Copilot CLI Adds Voice Input and Prompt Scheduling

GitHub shipped a Copilot CLI refresh on June 2 that adds two features worth turning on today: hands-free voice input and prompt scheduling. Both are now generally available, alongside an experimental tabbed terminal interface you can opt into. If you live in the terminal, these change how you feed work to the agent.

Voice Input: Hold Space and Talk

The simplest of the three. Hold the space bar, speak your prompt, release, and the CLI transcribes it into the input line. It's faster than typing for long, rambling descriptions of what you want — the kind of prompt where you're thinking out loud about a bug and don't want to stop to format it.

Pro Tip

Voice input shines for messy, exploratory prompts where you'd otherwise backspace a dozen times. For precise instructions — exact file names, flags, or code — typing is still cleaner. Use voice to describe the problem, then type the specifics.

Prompt Scheduling: Queue Work for Later

Prompt scheduling lets you line up a prompt to run at a set time instead of right now. It's behind the /experimental flag for this release. Think of it as a way to defer expensive agent runs to off-hours, or to kick off a routine check on a schedule without leaving a session open.

plaintext

/experimental
# enables prompt scheduling and the tabbed terminal interface

# then schedule a prompt to run later, e.g. an overnight dependency audit

Because Copilot moved to usage-based billing on June 1, scheduling also doubles as a cost tool — you can batch heavy work into a single planned run instead of triggering it ad hoc throughout the day.

The Experimental Tabbed Terminal

Also under /experimental is a new terminal interface with tabs for working with issues, pull requests, and gists without leaving the CLI. It's early, so expect rough edges, but it points at where the CLI is heading: a place to manage GitHub work, not just chat with an agent.

What This Pairs With

The same release made rubber duck generally available — the sibling agent that reads your current session and critiques the plan before you ship. Voice input to describe the problem, rubber duck to pressure-test the plan, scheduling to run it at the right time: together they make the CLI feel less like a prompt box and more like a workspace.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I use voice input in Copilot CLI?

Hold the space bar, speak your prompt, and release. The CLI transcribes your speech into the input line. It's generally available in the June 2 release — no flag needed.

How do I enable prompt scheduling?

Run /experimental in the CLI to opt into the experimental features, which include prompt scheduling and the new tabbed terminal interface. Scheduling lets you queue a prompt to run at a set time instead of immediately.

Why would I schedule prompts now?

Since Copilot moved to usage-based billing on June 1, scheduling lets you batch heavy agent work into planned off-hours runs instead of triggering expensive runs ad hoc throughout the day.