Mac Dictation: How to Dictate and Control a Mac by Voice

Every Mac comes with free Apple Dictation. You turn it on once in System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation, place the cursor in any text field, press the Microphone key or your shortcut, and speak. It has no length limit ¹ and stops after 30 seconds of silence ². On a Mac with Apple silicon, Dictation covers 63 language variants ³, and in 48 of them it is processed on the Mac itself ⁴. If you want to run the whole Mac by voice (open apps, click buttons, select and correct text), the separate accessibility feature Voice Control does that, and while it is on it replaces standard Dictation ⁵.

When dictation fails, it fails at one of five points: the shortcut, the microphone, the language setting, Voice Control, or the app receiving the text. Checking them in that order is the quickest way to find the cause. When the built-in tools are not enough (long documents, specialist vocabulary, AI cleanup of what you said, or typing into a terminal), a dedicated Mac dictation app is the next step. This page gives the essential answer for each part of the subject and links to the guide that covers it in depth.

Dictation is free on every Mac: turn it on once, then press one key in any text field

Apple Dictation has been part of macOS since OS X Mountain Lion in 2012, when Apple described it as a way "to dictate text anywhere you can type", in Apple's apps and in third-party ones alike ⁶. That is still the core idea: Dictation is a keyboard that listens, and it works in any app that accepts typed text. It costs nothing and needs no account beyond the Mac itself.

Turning it on takes four steps in macOS 27 (the same path works in macOS Tahoe 26 and Sequoia 15):

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar.
2. Go to Dictation and turn it on, then click Enable.
3. Choose whether to Share Audio Recordings with Apple or click Not Now (this only affects whether Apple may store your audio; see the privacy section below).
4. Check the Languages and Shortcut settings on the same screen.

To dictate, put the insertion point where the text should go and do one of three things: press the Microphone key, press the Dictation keyboard shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation ⁷. When the cursor pulses, speak. Current macOS accepts text of any length without a timeout, and you stop with Escape, the Microphone key or the shortcut ¹. If you go quiet, it stops on its own after 30 seconds without speech ².

Three details make daily use smoother. First, on Apple silicon you can type while Dictation is listening: the cursor stops pulsing while you type and resumes when you stop, so you can keep dictating while you fix a word ⁸. Second, when Dictation is unsure, it underlines the word in blue, and you can click it to pick an alternative ⁹. Third, a Mac without a built-in microphone needs an external one connected and selected in Sound or Keyboard settings before Dictation can hear you ¹⁰. That matters on a Mac mini or Mac Studio, where a headset, USB microphone or AirPods do the job.

Why bother? Speech is much faster than typing for first drafts. In a controlled study, English text entered by speech on a phone reached 153 words per minute against 52 on the on-screen keyboard ¹¹, and an analysis of 136 million keystrokes from an online typing test found that the average participant typed 51.56 words per minute ¹². Composing and correcting take time too, so real-world gains are smaller than the raw numbers, but the gap is large enough that dictation pays off for anything longer than a sentence or two. The overview of dictation and voice typing covers the technique of dictating well.

The full walkthrough, including the settings that decide accuracy and when to move on to Voice Control or an app, is in How to Use Dictation on a Mac. Short answers: what Dictation on a Mac is, how to turn it off, whether you can type while dictating, dictation on a Mac mini and dictating on an iPhone and sending the text to a Mac. For a quick version of the steps, see voice to text on Mac.

The shortcut is the Microphone key on recent keyboards and a key combination you choose on the rest

Recent Apple keyboards have a Microphone key in the function row. Press and release it for Dictation. Press and hold it and you get Siri instead, if Siri is enabled ¹³. That single difference explains a common complaint: people who hold the key down expecting dictation get a Siri prompt.

Every Mac also has a configurable Dictation keyboard shortcut. In System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation, the Shortcut menu offers presets (such as pressing the Globe key or Fn twice, or a Command key twice), and Customize lets you record any combination ¹⁴. External and older keyboards without a Microphone key rely on this shortcut.

When a shortcut stops working, the usual causes are another app or keyboard utility claiming the same keys, a "Press Globe key to" setting that changed when you picked a shortcut, or Dictation itself being off. The guide Mac Dictation Shortcut: Keys and Custom Hotkeys maps each option to the keyboard you have. Related questions: where the dictation key is, how to change the dictation shortcut and why the shortcut is not working.

You say punctuation by name, and auto-punctuation adds commas, periods and question marks

Standard Dictation types what you say, and a short set of spoken commands controls layout and symbols. Say "new line" to start a new line and "new paragraph" to start a new paragraph ¹⁵. Say a mark's name ("exclamation mark", "open parenthesis") and Dictation types the mark. Say "caps on" to put the next phrase in Title Case ¹⁶. Say an emoji's name followed by "emoji", such as "heart emoji", and you get the emoji in supported languages ¹⁷.

In supported languages you do not need to say the common marks at all: Dictation inserts commas, periods and question marks automatically, and you can switch this off with Auto-punctuation in Keyboard settings ¹⁸. Apple lists 33 language variants with auto-punctuation ¹⁹, so in other languages you still speak every mark.

The limit of standard Dictation is editing. It has no commands to select, delete or replace words; you fix mistakes with the keyboard (which you can use mid-dictation on Apple silicon) or switch to Voice Control, whose text commands let you say, for example, "Replace cat with dog". The complete list, separated by what works in Dictation and what needs Voice Control, is in Mac Dictation Commands and Punctuation: Full List. Short answers: how to start a new line, how to delete a word and whether Mac dictation adds punctuation automatically.

Voice Control operates the whole Mac by voice, and replaces Dictation while it runs

Voice Control is an accessibility feature, introduced with macOS Catalina in 2019, that lets people "control their Mac entirely with their voice" using on-device speech recognition ²⁰. It does everything Dictation does and adds commands for opening apps, clicking, scrolling, selecting and correcting text, and pressing keys. You turn it on in System Settings > Accessibility > Voice Control. The first time, the Mac downloads its files from Apple, and after that it works without an internet connection ²¹.

Four ideas cover most of Voice Control:

• Say what you see. "Open Mail", "Scroll down", "Click Done". If you are not sure what to call something, "Show names" or "Show numbers" labels every item on screen so you can say its name or number ²², and "Show grid" overlays a numbered grid for precise clicks on any part of the screen ²³.
• Ask for the list. "Show commands" displays the commands available right now, which change with the app and task ²⁴. Pause about half a second between commands said in a row ²⁵.
• Pick a mode. Dictation mode, on by default, types every word that is not a command ²⁶. Command mode makes Voice Control respond only to commands, which avoids typing a command as text by mistake ²⁷. Spelling mode enters text character by character for passwords and web addresses ²⁸. Current macOS also has a Swift mode that writes Swift code from speech ²⁹.
• Teach it your words. Voice Control accepts up to 1,000 custom vocabulary terms, each with a recorded pronunciation ³⁰. Standard Dictation has no equivalent.

The catch is that the two features do not run together: while Voice Control is on, you dictate through Voice Control and standard macOS Dictation is unavailable ⁵. People who turn Voice Control on by accident often think Dictation is broken, when the fix is to switch Voice Control off.

How to turn it on, use the modes and overlays, and switch it off again is in Voice Control on Mac: Turn It On and Use It. Every command, grouped by job, is in Mac Voice Control Commands: The Complete List. Short answers: how to turn off Voice Control, the Voice Control shortcut, the Voice Control modes, why Voice Control is not working, how to click with Voice Control, how to make a custom command and whether you can use a Mac completely hands-free. People who land on the wrong feature can also check how to turn off VoiceOver, the screen reader ( VoiceOver) that is often confused with Voice Control. For dictation as an accommodation for RSI, limited mobility or other disabilities, see speech to text for accessibility.

Dictation types, Voice Control operates, Siri answers: pick by task

The three voice features on a Mac overlap in name but not in job. Siri answers questions and performs quick actions; it is not built for long text. Dictation writes into whatever field has the cursor. Voice Control runs the computer, with its own dictation built in.

Two rules follow. Standard Dictation and Voice Control cannot run at the same time, so pick one. And Dictation is a separate setting from Siri: you turn it on in Keyboard settings, and Siri in its own settings, although the two share the Improve Siri & Dictation privacy choice. The side-by-side comparison and a rule for choosing by task are in Dictation vs Voice Control vs Siri on a Mac. Short answers: whether Siri can take dictation, whether Dictation needs Siri turned on and the most useful Siri commands on a Mac.

Apple Dictation covers 63 language variants, but each extra feature covers fewer

Apple's macOS feature availability page lists 63 language and regional variants for Dictation, from Arabic (Saudi Arabia) to Vietnamese, with English listed separately for each region ³. The features on top of basic dictation each cover a smaller set. On-device dictation, which keeps audio on the Mac and needs a download of speech models, covers 48 variants ⁴. Auto-punctuation covers 33 ¹⁹. Voice Control covers 20 ³¹. The new macOS 27 model, which Apple calls "More advanced Dictation", is available only in 9 English variants ³².

You add each language separately in Keyboard > Dictation > Languages > Edit. With more than one set up, you switch by clicking the language label next to the cursor or by pressing the Globe key and choosing one ³³. Dictation listens in one selected language at a time ³³, so if the wrong one is active, the text can come out as nonsense.

The table of every language and what works in each is in Apple Dictation Languages on Mac: The Full List, and the steps to add and switch languages are on the Mac dictation language page. Short answers: why Mac dictation types in the wrong language, whether it understands two languages at once and how to dictate in Chinese on a Mac. Accents, translation and dictation in other languages across devices are covered in dictation languages, accents and voice translation.

On Apple silicon, most dictation never leaves the Mac

Apple Dictation is a neural speech recognizer that runs in one of two places: on the Mac, or on Apple's servers. Which one applies to you depends on the Mac, the language and where you are typing. You do not have to guess: Keyboard settings show whether your general text dictation (messages and notes, but not search boxes) is processed on your device and not sent to Siri servers ³⁴.

Apple's troubleshooting guide says Dictation may need an internet connection, and tells you to check Keyboard settings to see whether you need one ³⁵. In practice, an Apple silicon Mac dictating in one of the 48 on-device variants ⁴ keeps the work on the Mac, while a language outside that list is sent to Apple's servers. The offline dictation on Mac page covers working without a connection in more detail.

Accuracy depends less on the engine than on the input. Apple's own advice is to select the right microphone and raise its input volume when the Mac does not respond ³⁶, and to use a headset microphone in noisy or echoing rooms ³⁷. Dictation also has its own Microphone source menu in Keyboard settings; on Automatic, the Mac picks the device it thinks you are most likely to use ³⁸, which is not always the one in front of you.

Apple Dictation has no voice training session, unlike Dragon for Mac, whose Voice Training had you read a story aloud so it could learn how you speak ³⁹. The closest built-in way to teach a Mac specialist words is Voice Control's custom vocabulary ³⁰. Third-party apps can reach Apple's speech models too: the Speech framework's SpeechAnalyzer class, available from macOS 26, gives developers speech-to-text with Apple's own models ⁴⁰.

What runs where, how accuracy is decided and why there is no voice training is in How Apple Dictation Works: On-Device, Server and AI. Short answers: whether Apple Dictation works without internet, whether it uses AI, whether it is any good, whether it learns your voice and how to add custom words. The Speech framework and the Neural Engine are defined in the glossary, and how speech recognition works explains the technology in general.

Apple keeps your dictation audio only if you opt in

Apple's privacy position on dictation comes down to three statements from its own documentation. Dictation that is processed on its servers is not stored unless you opt in to Improve Siri & Dictation ⁴¹. If you do opt in by choosing Share Audio Recordings, Apple stores audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions and may review a sample ⁴², and only Apple employees under confidentiality obligations can access that audio ⁴³. Separately, Apple links request history, including transcripts, to a random identifier that rotates multiple times per hour rather than to your Apple Account, and may keep it for up to two years ⁴⁴.

You can change your mind at any time: go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements and turn Improve Siri & Dictation off ⁴⁵. When Dictation runs on the device, your audio stays on the Mac regardless of this setting ³⁴.

Consumer privacy settings are not a compliance guarantee. Rules for health, legal and client data put obligations on the organization that handles the data, such as agreements with vendors and controls it can audit, which a personal setting cannot meet on its own. Check with whoever is responsible for compliance before dictating protected information. The settings, what Apple keeps and how it compares with cloud dictation apps are in Is Apple Dictation Private? What Apple Keeps. Short answers: whether Apple Dictation is HIPAA compliant, whether Apple keeps recordings of what you dictate and how to delete Siri and Dictation history on a Mac. Privacy across every kind of speech-to-text tool is the subject of speech to text privacy.

When Mac dictation is not working, check five points in order

Dictation is a short chain: a key press starts it, a microphone hears you, a language model recognizes the words, Voice Control must not be in the way, and the app must accept the text. Each link fails with its own symptom, so the symptom tells you where to look.

1. Nothing happens when you press the key. Dictation is off, or the shortcut you press is not the one in Keyboard settings. Turn Dictation on and check the Shortcut menu.
2. The microphone icon appears but no text arrives. The Mac is listening to the wrong input. Check Microphone source under Dictation and the input level in Sound > Input ³⁶. Also check that the app has not been denied the microphone: macOS lets you decide which apps can use it ⁴⁶.
3. The text is garbled or in another language. The wrong dictation language is active. Switch with the Globe key or the label next to the cursor.
4. Dictation is greyed out or behaves differently. Voice Control is on and has replaced it ⁵.
5. It works in Notes but not in one app. That app is the problem, not Dictation. See the section on Mac apps below.

If none of those apply, typically after a macOS update, turn Dictation off and on again and restart the Mac before trying anything drastic. Never weaken system security (some pages suggest disabling System Integrity Protection) to fix dictation. Dictation that keeps stopping is often the 30-second silence timeout doing its job ².

The full diagnosis, with fixes ordered from safest to most drastic, is in Why Mac Dictation Is Not Working, and How to Fix It, and the quick symptom checklist is on the Mac dictation not working page. Short answers: why Mac dictation keeps stopping, how to change the microphone dictation uses and how to reset dictation on a Mac.

Apple Dictation works in almost every Mac app, with a few known exceptions

Because Dictation acts like a keyboard, it types into any app with a text field: Pages, Notes, Mail, Messages, TextEdit, Safari and most third-party apps. The exceptions come from apps that handle text input in their own way.

Microsoft Word for Mac adds Microsoft's own Dictate button, which is separate from Apple Dictation. In Word for Mac you start it from Home > Dictate or with Option + F1 ⁴⁷. It needs a Microsoft 365 subscription, a microphone and a reliable internet connection ⁴⁸. A missing or greyed-out button usually means one of these conditions is not met. Apple Dictation still works in Word if you prefer it.

Google Docs has its own voice typing feature in the browser, which runs on Google's speech service and has its own browser requirements. Apple Dictation also types into Google Docs in any browser, which is often the simpler route on a Mac.

Terminals and AI coding tools are where Apple Dictation is least reliable. Command lines need exact characters, and some terminal apps handle dictated input poorly. Voice Control's Spelling mode helps for short commands, and the Claude Code dictation page covers dictating prompts to AI coding tools.

Turning a recording you already have into text is a different task: transcription works on an existing recording, while dictation types as you speak. For a one-off file, the free audio to text tool does it in the browser. The full app-by-app table, why the exceptions happen and the fix for each is in Dictation in Mac Apps: Word, Pages, Notes, Mail, Terminal. Short answers: how to dictate in Word on a Mac, why Dictate is greyed out in Word, whether Mac dictation works in Google Docs, how to dictate in Terminal and how to transcribe a voice memo on a Mac. Voice typing in every major app, on every platform, is covered in voice typing in Google Docs, Word and every other app. Some apps also ask for the Accessibility permission before they can type into other apps; that applies to third-party dictation tools, not to Apple Dictation.

Mac dictation changed most in 2012, 2019 and 2026

Mac dictation has gone from short clips processed on Apple's servers to dictation of any length, with more of it running on the Mac itself.

The first Mac dictation was processed on Apple's servers ⁶ and stopped after about 30 seconds of speech ⁴⁹; Enhanced Dictation in OS X Mavericks was the workaround, an optional download that allowed continuous and offline dictation ⁴⁹. That setting does not appear in Apple's current Mac User Guide; on Apple silicon, the 48 on-device language variants are processed on the Mac instead ⁴.

The newest change is in macOS 27. Apple describes "a powerful new on-device model" that improves Dictation accuracy, available on Macs with M3 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory ⁵¹, in English only ³². Every other Mac that runs macOS 27 keeps the standard on-device model. Intel Macs cannot run macOS 27 at all: Apple's macOS 27 compatibility list contains only Apple silicon Macs and the MacBook Neo ⁵², while macOS Tahoe 26 still lists Intel models such as the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro ⁵³, so Tahoe is where Intel Macs stop ⁵⁰.

The version-by-version table, with the Macs each feature needs, is in Mac Dictation by macOS Version: What Changed, and the new model has its own macOS 27 dictation page. Short answers: whether the MacBook Neo gets advanced dictation, what happened to Enhanced Dictation and whether dictation works on an Intel Mac. Apple Intelligence, the umbrella name for the new model, is defined in the glossary.

Start with Apple Dictation, and move to a dedicated app when you outgrow it

Apple Dictation is free and good enough for messages, notes and short documents. A dedicated Mac dictation app earns its place in four situations: you dictate long text and want fewer corrections, you use words Apple keeps missing (names, drug names, code), you want the app to clean up filler words and format what you said, or you need to type reliably into places where Apple Dictation struggles, such as terminals.

Mac dictation apps fall into four groups:

One long-standing option is gone: Nuance stopped providing updates for Dragon Professional Individual for Mac after 22 October 2018 ⁵⁴. The Dragon for Mac page covers what former Dragon users can switch to. Open-source Mac apps that run Whisper or Parakeet models locally are free and keep audio on the Mac; they ask more of you in setup.

Before paying for any app, test five things on your own words: accuracy on your vocabulary, the delay between speaking and text, whether it types into the apps you use, where your audio goes, and the price over a year. Yap, which we make, is an on-device dictation app for Mac and Windows, and it is one of the options in that comparison; the download page and pricing page have its current details. If you are choosing between cloud tools, the Wispr Flow alternative page and how to choose a dictation app set out the trade-offs.

The four groups, the five tests and a table by use case are in Best Dictation Apps for Mac: Built-In vs Third-Party. Short answers: whether there is a free dictation app for Mac, whether Apple Dictation is as good as Wispr Flow, how to use Whisper for dictation on a Mac and the best medical dictation software for Mac. The wider market, Windows and Mac together, is covered in dictation software: how to choose the right app.

The same tasks on other devices

If you also use a Windows PC, the equivalents are Windows voice typing and Voice Access, covered in dictation on Windows and the Windows dictation page. On an iPhone or iPad, Dictation works the same way from the keyboard's microphone button, as described in dictation and voice to text on iPhone and Android. For professional use (doctors, lawyers, writers, students), see dictation for work. And if you want to know how fast you type today, before deciding whether dictation will save you time, see typing speed.