How do I use the AI Tools (Clean, Improve, Summary, Translate)?
VoicePad's AI Tools run on **Ollama** — a local LLM that powers 5 text transformations. **Windows only.** All processing happens on your PC. No internet, no API key, no cost.
**Setup (one-time):**
1. Install Ollama free from [ollama.com](https://ollama.com)
2. Open a terminal and run: `ollama pull qwen2.5:0.5b`
3. Open VoicePad → Settings → AI Tools — should show "Ollama: Connected"
**The 5 tools:**
| Tool | Hotkey | What it does |
|------|--------|--------------|
| 🧹 **Clean** | `Ctrl+Shift+L` | Remove filler words (um, uh), false starts, repeated words. Doesn't change meaning. |
| ✨ **Improve** | `Ctrl+Shift+I` | Clean + rewrite for better flow and clarity. Keeps intent, elevates writing. |
| 🤖 **AI Prompt** | `Ctrl+Shift+F` | Send text as a prompt to Ollama. Voice-powered AI chat. |
| 📄 **Summary** | `Ctrl+Shift+U` | Condense long text into key points and action items. |
| 🌐 **Translate** | (button) | Translate text to another language. |
**Example — Clean in action:**
> **Raw input:** "So um I want to uh schedule a meeting for next Thursday if that's like if that works"
>
> **After Clean:** "I want to schedule a meeting for next Thursday if that works."
**Choosing the right Ollama model:**
| Model | Size | Speed | Best for |
|-------|------|-------|----------|
| qwen2.5:0.5b | ~400 MB | Fastest | Quick cleanup, daily use |
| qwen2.5:1.5b | ~1 GB | Balanced | Better quality output |
| qwen2.5:3b | ~2 GB | Slower | Best quality results |
**AI Tools work on imported content too.** Import a PDF → run Summary. Import an audio file → run Translate. See [How do I import files?](#).
**Voice-triggered AI commands (v2.1.0):**
Speak a command at the very start of your dictation and VoicePad executes the transformation automatically. Example: say "make it formal, I need to reschedule our Thursday meeting" — VoicePad transcribes AND rewrites professionally in one step.