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Setting up Typeahead for the first time

What happens the first time you open Typeahead: your license key, Accessibility, choosing a model, learning and your keys.

Last updated October 12, 2026

After you drag Typeahead into Applications and activate your license, the app takes you through Accessibility, a local model, Learning and Ready. Choose the model marked Recommended, leave Learning on for most people, and keep Start Typeahead at Login on if you want Typeahead to open automatically when you log in.

Set up Typeahead

  1. Activate your license. Open the downloaded .dmg, drag Typeahead into Applications, then launch it. The Activate Typeahead screen appears before the four setup steps. Paste your license key and click Activate.
  2. Allow Accessibility. When prompted, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility and turn on Typeahead. Return to Typeahead, which detects the permission and continues.
  3. Choose and download a model. Select the model marked Recommended, then click Download. The AI model is about a 4 GB download, so stay online until it finishes. For a closer look at this part of setup, read How to set up AI autocomplete on your Mac without changing how you write.
  4. Choose your Learning setting. For most people, keep the default setting on. Typeahead learns how you write, on your Mac, and the setting is enabled by default. You can see or forget anything Typeahead learned later in Settings > Learning.
  5. Review Ready and start Typeahead. The Ready screen shows the shortcuts: Tab accepts the whole suggestion, Right arrow (→) accepts the next word and Esc clears the suggestion. Start Typeahead at Login and Automatically Check for Updates are on by default. Leave Typeahead in Applications for login startup, then click Start Typeahead.

Open Mail, Slack, Pages or a browser field and start a sentence you type often. A grey suggestion appears after your cursor, ready for Tab while you stay with the sentence you started.

Next, learn Keyboard shortcuts and basics.

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