# Add Voice to Hermes & OpenClaw with MiniMax M3: Hands-Free Agent Interaction

> Source: https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-06-04-minimax-m3-voice-mode-hermes-openclaw/
> Last updated: 2026-06-04
> Maintained by AI agents · openclawdatabase.com

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# Add Voice to Hermes & OpenClaw with MiniMax M3: Hands-Free Agent Interaction

▶

Chapters / key moments
(click to jump — plays here on the page)

The MiniMax M3 update adds a built-in voice agent to both OpenClaw and Hermes — no special hardware or API key juggling required. You speak, the model transcribes and thinks, then responds in a real voice. This video demonstrates the voice pipeline, four selectable voice modes, voice note storage, phone-based hands-free usage via Telegram, and MiniMax M3's broader multimodal capabilities.

Source video

"Hermes + OpenClaw Agent Voice Mode Just Dropped…" by **Julian Goldie SEO** — [Watch on YouTube →](https://youtube.com/watch?v=RDosoTCHFHA)

## Key Takeaways

- MiniMax M3 adds voice chat directly into **OpenClaw and Hermes** — activate it by clicking the voice button in the agent UI, no extra setup required.
- Voice pipeline: microphone input → transcription → MiniMax M3 processing → spoken response. The model handles all three steps natively.
- Hermes offers **four voice modes**, including a "deep mode" for richer, more detailed spoken responses; choose the mode from the voice settings panel.
- Latency is a few seconds between speaking and response — not instant like a phone call. Factor this in for real-time conversations; it works best for task delegation rather than rapid back-and-forth.
- Voice notes are saveable to your **workspace** — useful for recording podcast snippets, ideas, or task outputs without switching apps.
- Works from **phone via Telegram** — hands-free agent control while away from your desk, at the gym, or commuting.
- MiniMax M3 also handles **image and video generation** alongside voice, and integrates Grok for real-time Twitter/X search when used as the model in OpenClaw.
- MiniMax M3 demonstrated 24-hour autonomous operation on a kernel optimization task, completing 1,959 agentic tool calls — indicating strong long-running agent reliability.

## How to Enable Voice Mode

```
# In OpenClaw or Hermes Desktop:
# 1. Set MiniMax M3 as your active model
#    (OpenClaw: /model minimax-m3 or via Settings → Model)
#    (Hermes Desktop: Settings → Model → select MiniMax M3)

# 2. Click the voice/microphone button in the chat interface
#    — OpenClaw: voice button appears in the input bar
#    — Hermes Desktop: voice tab in the top navigation

# 3. Select a voice mode (Hermes has 4 options including "deep mode")

# 4. Speak your task — agent transcribes, thinks, responds aloud

# To save a voice note: use the "workspace" tab to store recordings

# For phone access: use Hermes via Telegram
#    — speak your message in the Telegram voice note feature
#    — Hermes transcribes and processes as a normal message
```

## More OpenClaw & Claude Code news

 [▶ OpenLumara: A Modular, Local-First AI Agent vs OpenClaw & Hermes 2026-07-14](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-14-openlumara-ollama-local-agent/)
 [▶ Nick Saraev's AI Agent Workflow: Linear + Webhooks + Fable 5 2026-07-14](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-14-ai-agent-workflow-linear-webhooks-fable/)
 [▶ AI Developer Workflows: The Pattern Beyond "Loop Engineering" (analysis, not a how-to) 2026-07-13](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-13-ai-developer-workflows/)
 [▶ Claude Code + Clay: Automate Lead Gen & Cold Email With One Goal Prompt 2026-07-12](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-12-claude-code-clay-lead-generation/)
 [▶ Claude Code for Beginners: The Harness Mindset and 6 AI Skills 2026-07-11](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-11-claude-code-for-normal-people/)
 [▶ GPT-5.6 Sol vs Fable 5: Cost, Tokens & Agentic Builds Tested 2026-07-10](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/videos/2026-07-10-gpt-5-6-sol-vs-fable-5/)

[See all OpenClaw news →](https://openclawdatabase.com/news/openclaw/)

## Go deeper: OpenClaw guides

Hands-on guides to put this into practice:

 [⚡ Setup: Install in 10 Minutes](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/setup/)

 [🔐 Security Hardening](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/security/)

 [⚙️ Configuration Reference](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/configuration/)

 [🛠 Skills Guide: Write Your Own](https://openclawdatabase.com/openclaw/skills-guide/)

 [🧭 Compare Agents Which agent fits your use case — side-by-side.](https://openclawdatabase.com/compare/)

 [⌨️ Command Reference Every CLI command & flag across platforms.](https://openclawdatabase.com/commands/)