Glossary
Dictation (ChromeOS)
Dictation on ChromeOS is a built-in accessibility feature that types recognized speech into an editable field. You turn it on with Search + D or the microphone icon in the status tray.
Updated October 17, 202610 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Chromebook dictation.
Dictation on ChromeOS is the speech-to-text feature built into Chromebooks. Chromium's developer documentation describes it as an accessibility feature that lets users type and edit text with their voice 1.
You turn it on with Search + D
There are two ways to turn ChromeOS Dictation on: press Search + D, or press the microphone icon in the status tray 2. Google's Chromebook help adds the Settings path: turn on Dictation under Keyboard and text input in the Accessibility section, then start it by selecting Speak or pressing Search + d 3.
It types only into editable fields
ChromeOS Dictation works only when the keyboard focus is on an editable field, such as a text area or an input box 4. If you click on a page that is not a text field, nothing is typed. Click into the document or message first.
An example: a spoken command and a sentence
When the feature recognizes a spoken command, it runs the command as well as it can. Otherwise it types the recognized words as they are 5. In practice, a phrase that matches a command acts on the document, and the rest of what you say is typed as text.
It also turns itself off after a period with no speech. The document does not give the length of that period 6, so do not rely on a fixed time.
Language must match, and offline use depends on the language pack
Dictation does not work if the language you speak does not match the device language 7. Check the device language before you assume the microphone is at fault.
For recognition, the Chromium documentation says the SODA component turns speech into text on the device, without sending it to a Google server 8. When SODA is not available, the feature falls back to network speech recognition 9. Chromium's source also records, for each locale, whether offline recognition is supported and whether the language pack is installed 10.
These are developer documents, so treat them as the design, not a promise for every device. Check Google's current Chromebook help before you plan around offline use.
Why it matters for dictation
ChromeOS Dictation is a good first test on a Chromebook: it is built in. Its limits are the editable-field rule, the language match and the offline dependence on the language pack. Our guide on Chromebook dictation covers setup, punctuation and offline use step by step. For Chrome on other systems, see speech to text in Chrome.
Related terms
- Dictation: the general act of speaking words that software writes down.
- Voice typing: the general name for built-in dictation in an operating system or product.
- Text insertion: how recognized words reach the field that has focus.
Guides that cover it
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
Related terms
- Voice Typing in Google Docs, Word and Every Other AppThe topic this term belongs to
- Connected experiences (Microsoft 365)Connected experiences are Microsoft 365 features backed by cloud services, and Dictate is one of the experiences that analyze your content. You can turn them off in Manage Settings, but that setting also turns off other services.
- CursorlessCursorless is a spoken language for structural code editing that lets developers code by voice. Every command is an action performed on a target in the code, and it runs on Talon with a VS Code extension.
- Dictate (Microsoft 365)Dictate is the speech-to-text feature in Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, Outlook and PowerPoint. It needs a Microsoft 365 subscription, a microphone and a reliable internet connection.
- Site microphone permissionSite microphone permission is the browser's setting for each website that decides whether that site may use your microphone, usually chosen when the browser prompts you. It works alongside the operating system's own microphone setting, so both must allow the microphone before a site can listen.
- Talon VoiceTalon Voice, usually called Talon, is hands-free input software for writing, coding, browsing and gaming. It runs alongside a speech-recognition engine, and it is used for voice coding, often together with the Cursorless editing language.
- Text insertionText insertion is the step where dictation software places recognized words into the text field that has the cursor. It is done either by simulating keystrokes or by pasting the text from the clipboard.
- Transcribe (Microsoft 365)Transcribe is a Word for Microsoft 365 feature that turns an uploaded audio file into text in the Transcribe pane, rather than typing your speech into the document. Its monthly limits depend on your license.
- Vibe codingVibe coding is building software by describing what you want to an AI model and accepting the code it writes, without reviewing that code. Andrej Karpathy introduced the term, and the developer Simon Willison argues for a narrower meaning than the broad one now in use.
- Voice codingVoice coding, also called programming by voice or coding by voice, is writing and editing source code by speaking instead of typing. It needs a speech-recognition engine and a separate platform that turns spoken words into code editing actions.
- Voice typing (Google Docs)Voice typing in Google Docs is a built-in speech-to-text tool that types as you speak. You start it from the Tools menu in a supported browser, and the browser controls the speech-to-text service.
- WaylandWayland is the display system that Linux desktops are moving to in place of the X Window System, called X11. Its compositor delivers input to each app, so a typing tool that worked on X11 may not type on a Wayland desktop.
- Web Speech APIThe Web Speech API is a set of browser interfaces that let a web page start speech recognition and receive the recognized words as text, through an object called SpeechRecognition. Where the recognition runs, on your device or on a server, depends on the browser.