Glossary
Speech Services by Google
Speech Services by Google is the Android speech engine from Google that turns speech into text for other apps and reads on-screen text aloud. Google's Play Store listing now uses the title Speech Recognition & Synthesis, and reviews on that listing still call the app by the older name.
Updated October 17, 20263 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Speech Recognition and Synthesis from Google.
Speech Services by Google is Google's speech engine for Android. It does two jobs: it turns what you say into text for other apps, and it reads text on your screen aloud. Google's Play Store listing now titles the app Speech Recognition & Synthesis, and reviews on the same listing still refer to the older name.
The speech-to-text side serves Google and other apps
Google's Play Store listing says Speech Recognition provides speech-to-text to Google and to other third-party apps, so they can convert what you say to text 1. The listing gives Google Maps voice search and the Recorder app's transcription as examples of apps that use it.
Because the engine serves other apps, a voice problem can come from the engine rather than from the app you are typing in. The listing does not say which keyboards use this engine, so check the settings of the keyboard you use.
You choose it as the voice input engine
The listing tells you to select Speech Recognition and Synthesis from Google as your preferred voice input engine 2. The phone's setting decides which engine handles voice input, so the setting is the place to look when speech-to-text behaves differently from one app to another.
The text-to-speech side reads text aloud
The same listing says Speech Services powers applications to read the text on your screen aloud 3. Its examples include the Read Aloud feature in Google Play Books and spoken translations in Google Translate. This is the text to speech half of the engine, and it does not type anything for you.
Why the name matters when you search for help
Reviews on the Play listing use "Speech Services by Google" for the app that the listing now titles Speech Recognition & Synthesis. When you troubleshoot, match the name you see on your phone against both names before you assume a different app is involved. For the speech input that people usually mean by voice typing, see Google voice typing.
Related terms
- Google voice typing: the Google speech input on Android, which can use this engine.
- Gboard: Google's keyboard app, which has a microphone key for voice typing.
- Automatic speech recognition: the general name for software that turns speech into text.
- On-device speech recognition: recognition that runs on the phone rather than on a server.
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.
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Related terms
- Dictation and Voice to Text on iPhone and AndroidThe topic this term belongs to
- Allow Full AccessAllow Full Access is an iPhone setting that you switch on for a third-party keyboard before it can have open access, such as network access. Apple warns that a keyboard with this setting on is permitted to collect and transmit the text you type.
- GboardGboard is Google's keyboard app for Android and iPhone, and its microphone key turns speech into text in any app where you can type. On Android it can run speech recognition on the phone, while on iPhone the voice input is handled inside the Gboard app and sent to Google.
- Google voice typingGoogle voice typing is the speech-to-text input that Google provides on Android, so you can speak words into a text field. Its name and location vary by phone: Gboard shows a microphone key, while Samsung Galaxy phones list Google Voice Typing next to their own voice input.
- Live CaptionsLive Captions is a feature that shows text for speech and audio as it happens, using the phone's own processing. Google calls it Live Caption on Pixel phones, and Apple calls it Live Captions on iPhone. It reads what others say, so it is the reverse of dictation.
- Live TranscribeLive Transcribe is a Google app for Android phones that turns the speech of people around you into captions as they talk. It helps you follow a conversation. It does not type your own words into a text field, which is what dictation does.
- Real-time text (RTT)Real-time text (RTT) is a way of sending text as it is typed, so the other person can read each word before the sender finishes. It is used in conversation by many deaf and hard of hearing people, and it has no send step like an ordinary text message. It is a typing channel, not a speech technology.
- Samsung voice inputSamsung voice input is the voice-to-text feature built into the Samsung Keyboard on Galaxy phones and tablets. It works only with that keyboard, so it is a separate choice from Google Voice Typing.
- Third-party keyboardA third-party keyboard is a keyboard app from a developer other than the phone's maker, which you install and switch to in place of the built-in keyboard. Apple calls the iPhone version a custom keyboard, and Apple's rules limit what it can do, such as network access and microphone use.
- Transcript Assist (Galaxy AI)Transcript Assist is a Samsung Galaxy AI feature that converts a saved recording in the Voice Recorder app into text. It works on select Galaxy models and needs a working internet connection. It transcribes recordings you already made, so it is not live dictation into a text field.
- Voice Access (Android)Voice Access (Android) is a Google feature that lets you operate an Android phone or tablet by speaking commands, such as opening an app or tapping a labelled item. Google built it for people who have difficulty using a touch screen. It is a control tool that can also enter text, and it is separate from Windows Voice Access on PCs.
- Voice message transcriptsA voice message transcript is written text of the words in an audio message, produced by the messaging app so you can read instead of listen. Apple, Google and WhatsApp each offer one, with different defaults and different privacy arrangements. It turns audio into text, the reverse of dictation.