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AI tutors you can talk to: what to look for

Talking is the fastest way to think something through. A good voice tutor keeps up: short answers, stops when you cut in, knows what you’re looking at, and lets you do the solving.

Updated · 6 min read

Why voice? Speaking is faster than typing, especially maths, and it leaves your hands free for your Pencil or keyboard. It also changes how you study: you think out loud, the way you would with a friend. But a voice tutor that talks in paragraphs and can’t be interrupted is worse than none. Here’s what to look for.

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Naming Organic Compounds11:02 AMFind the longest carbon chain… Note
The Chain Rule10:55 AMWhen one function sits inside… Note
Exam Plan — Week 610:29 AMChain rule practice set Note
Two Pointers12:56 AMOn a sorted array, walk one p… Note
Black–Scholes11:02 AMN(d2): the risk-neutral chance… Note
Binary Search11:02 AMdef lowerbound(nums, target): Note
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October 7, 2026 at 10:55 AM
NoteSessionsBrief
#The Chain Rule

When one function sits inside another, differentiate the outside, keep the inside, then multiply by the derivative of the inside.

ddxf(g(x))=f′(g(x))⋅g′(x)\frac{d}{dx}f(g(x)) = f'(g(x))\cdot g'(x)
Worked examples
ddxsin⁡(x2)=cos⁡(x2)⋅2x\frac{d}{dx}\sin(x^2) = \cos(x^2)\cdot 2x
ddx(3x+1)5=15(3x+1)4\frac{d}{dx}(3x+1)^5 = 15(3x+1)^4
Talk to Buddy⇧⌘Space
Press one button and talk. Buddy answers in a sentence or two, with live captions, and stops when you cut in.

Six things that matter

  1. Short spoken answers. A sentence or two, then your turn. Long explanations belong on the page, not in your ears.
  2. You can interrupt. When you get it halfway through, you should be able to say so and have it stop.
  3. It knows what you’re looking at. “Why does this step work?” should be enough. If you have to read the problem aloud or paste it in, it’s a chatbot with a microphone.
  4. Hints before answers. A tutor helps you find the answer. Check what it does when you’re stuck: a nudge, or the full solution?
  5. It remembers. Picking up where you left off last time, without explaining everything again.
  6. It fits where you study. In your notes, beside your problem, on the device you use, not in another tab.

The options today

  • General assistants with voice, like ChatGPT’s voice mode and Gemini Live, are good conversationalists. ChatGPT’s Study Mode, which asks questions instead of giving answers, works with voice too. They know what you tell them or show them. See where ChatGPT Study Mode went.
  • Khanmigo, Khan Academy’s tutor, takes spoken questions and is built around Khan Academy’s lessons. Learner plans are sold in the US.
  • Pen Buddy, our app, is a study notebook for Mac and iPad with a voice tutor built in. Buddy answers out loud in a sentence or two with live captions, stops when you interrupt, follows the page you’re on (and your screen on the Mac, when you share it), reads your handwriting on iPad, and gives hints before answers. What matters ends up in your notes.

Try this test

Give any voice tutor a problem you’re stuck on and say “I don’t get it.” A good one asks what you’ve tried, or gives you one small hint. A poor one reads you the whole solution.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Yes. General assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini have voice modes, and study apps like Pen Buddy are built around voice: you talk to the tutor while you work, and it answers briefly out loud.

Short spoken answers, interruptions that work, knowing what you’re looking at, hints before answers, memory of past sessions, and living where you study.

Some can. Pen Buddy reads your handwriting on iPad, and on the Mac follows your screen after you share it for the conversation, with a badge and a stop button always showing.