Glossary
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.
Updated October 17, 202612 cited facts, each traced to its source
Also called Word Transcribe.
Transcribe is a feature in Word for Microsoft 365 that converts recorded audio into text. It works from a file you have, not from speech as you say it. That makes it a transcription tool, and it sits next to Dictate, which types your words as you speak.
Transcribe adds the text from a pane, not the audio
Microsoft says that, unlike Dictate, Transcribe does not automatically add the audio to the document. You add the transcript from the Transcribe pane 1. In Word, the route is Home, then Dictate, then Transcribe 2.
An example: transcribing an interview recording
In the Transcribe pane, select Upload audio to choose a file from the file picker 3. Microsoft says it supports .wav, .mp4, .m4a and .mp3 files 4. The audio file is saved to the Transcribed Files folder in OneDrive 5.
Plan for time as well. Microsoft says an uploaded file can take up to about the length of the audio, depending on your internet speed 6. A one-hour recording may therefore take up to about an hour to process.
The limits depend on your license and tenant
A Microsoft 365 subscriber can transcribe up to 300 minutes of uploaded audio per month in Word 7. A user with a Microsoft Copilot license can transcribe up to 30,000 minutes per month 8. These are license-based caps for uploaded audio, and Microsoft's article gives them as they stand today.
Availability is narrower. Microsoft says Transcribe is currently available only in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows in Commercial Tenants 9. For Government tenants, transcription is only available in Word for the web 10. In a browser, you need to be signed into Microsoft 365 and use the new Microsoft Edge or Chrome 11.
Why it matters for dictation
Dictate and Transcribe solve different problems. Dictate is for writing as you speak. Transcribe is for turning a recording you already have into text, such as a meeting or an interview. If your audio is a file on your computer and not a live voice, the feature to check is Transcribe, not Dictate. Our guide on transcription software compares the options for files.
Do not confuse Word's feature with the Transcribe button in OneNote. Microsoft's OneNote article says the Record button can depend on the version of OneNote 12, so check the steps for the app you use.
Related terms
- Dictate (Microsoft 365): speech typed into the document as you talk.
- Dictation: the general act of speaking words that software writes down.
Guides that cover it
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Pages that use this term
- Voice Typing in Google Docs, Word and Every Other AppTopic
- Dictate in PowerPoint, OneNote and ExcelGuide
- Can OneNote transcribe audio?Question
- How do you dictate in OneNote?Question
- What is the difference between Dictate and Transcribe in Word?Question
- Connected experiences (Microsoft 365)Glossary
- Dictate (Microsoft 365)Glossary