Glossary
Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications was a speech technology company best known for the Dragon family of speech recognition products. Microsoft announced that it had completed its acquisition of Nuance on March 4, 2022.
Updated October 16, 20268 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Nuance.
Nuance Communications was a speech technology company, best known for the Dragon family of speech recognition products. Its name appears on many dictation products, both consumer and professional. Knowing who owns a product helps when you compare prices, support and data terms.
The Dragon line changed hands several times
Dragon Systems released the first Dragon NaturallySpeaking in 1997 1. Later, a court-approved sale of Lernout and Hauspie's speech assets in November 2001 included the Dragon NaturallySpeaking line, which was to go to ScanSoft 2. Nuance Communications was formerly ScanSoft 3, so the same product line moved into the company that became Nuance.
Nuance also bought other speech companies. It bought MacSpeech in February 2010, and MacSpeech's own product, Dictate, was based on the Dragon product line 4.
Microsoft acquired Nuance in 2022
Microsoft announced on March 4, 2022 that it had completed its acquisition of Nuance Communications 5. After the acquisition, the clinical line is sold under Microsoft's Dragon Copilot name, which combines and extends Dragon Medical One and DAX Copilot 6.
What the Nuance name covers
Several products carry the Nuance name, and they do different jobs. The table below lists the main ones that our library covers.
| Product | What it is | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Dragon NaturallySpeaking | Desktop speech recognition for dictating into a computer | Dragon NaturallySpeaking |
| Dragon Professional Anywhere | Subscription edition, sold for a set term | Dragon Professional Anywhere |
| Dragon Medical One | Clinical dictation into health records | Dragon Medical One |
The Mac line ended in 2018
Nuance said it would stop updating Dragon Professional Individual for Mac after 22 October 2018 7, and that it had decided to discontinue the line 8. If a Mac guide or price is from before that date, it describes a product that no longer receives updates from Nuance.
Why the owner's name matters when you buy
When a product page names Nuance, Microsoft or Dragon Copilot, check which company supports the product today, the end-of-support dates, and whether the product is still sold. A perpetual license from an older Dragon edition and a current subscription may come from the same family of names, but the support you get can differ. The perpetual license entry explains how support and updates can end while a license stays valid.
For a timeline of the Dragon versions and their release dates, read our guide to Dragon NaturallySpeaking versions. For the price question, read how much Dragon NaturallySpeaking costs. For the clinical product's place in healthcare dictation, read medical dictation.
Evidence
Every number on this page, with where it comes from. Open a fact to see the exact words in its source.
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Related terms
- Dictation Software: How to Choose the Right AppThe topic this term belongs to
- AI dictationAI dictation is dictation in which a language model edits the recognized text after speech recognition, removing filler words, fixing punctuation and sometimes rewording a sentence. It can change your meaning, so check the result before you send it.
- Bring your own key (BYOK)Bring your own key (BYOK) is a setup in which you supply your own API key for an AI or speech provider. The app then sends requests through your account with that provider, so your agreement with the provider governs the data.
- Cloud dictationCloud dictation sends your recorded speech to a remote server, which recognizes it and returns the text. It usually needs an internet connection, and your audio leaves your device, so check the provider's policy before you dictate sensitive material.
- Custom vocabularyA custom vocabulary is a list of words, names and phrases that you add to dictation software so it recognizes and spells them as you intend. It matters most for names, jargon and product terms the recognizer has not learned.
- Dictation softwareDictation software is a program that recognizes your speech and types the words where your cursor is, as you say them. It comes built into many phones and computers and is also sold as separate apps.
- Dragon Medical OneDragon Medical One, abbreviated DMO, is Nuance's speech recognition product for clinicians who dictate notes into health records. Microsoft now combines it with DAX Copilot in a product called Dragon Copilot.
- Dragon NaturallySpeakingDragon NaturallySpeaking, usually called Dragon, is a speech recognition program for dictating text on a computer. Dragon Systems released it in 1997, and Nuance has sold it in several editions since.
- Dragon Professional AnywhereDragon Professional Anywhere is a subscription edition of Dragon that Nuance sells for professional and enterprise users. It is often shortened to Dragon Anywhere, a name that also belongs to Nuance's mobile app, so check which product a listing means.
- Free tierA free tier is the no-cost version of a dictation app, with limits such as a weekly word cap, fewer modes or no AI processing. Read those limits before you rely on it, because a free plan can run out in the middle of your work.
- Perpetual licenseA perpetual license is a software license you pay for once. It lets you keep using that version without renewing. Updates, support and new major versions are often separate, time-limited or paid extra.
- PowerScribePowerScribe is a family of radiology reporting products in which a radiologist dictates an imaging report by voice. It began as a Nuance dictation application, and Microsoft completed its purchase of Nuance in 2022, so Microsoft now sells the line.
- Voice profileA voice profile is the set of files that dictation software keeps for one user, with settings such as the microphone they use and their custom words. It is not the same as speaker recognition, which identifies who is speaking.
Pages that use this term
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking: What It Is and Where It StandsGuide
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking Versions, Editions and PriceGuide
- Can you upgrade an old Dragon NaturallySpeaking to version 15 or 16?Question
- Does Microsoft own Dragon NaturallySpeaking?Question
- How do you find your Dragon NaturallySpeaking license key or serial number?Question
- How much does Dragon NaturallySpeaking cost?Question
- Is there a Dragon NaturallySpeaking education discount?Question
- Is there a free trial of Dragon NaturallySpeaking?Question
- Where can you still buy Dragon NaturallySpeaking?Question
- Dragon Medical OneGlossary
- Dragon NaturallySpeakingGlossary
- Dragon Professional AnywhereGlossary
- PowerScribeGlossary