How do you use voice typing in Google Docs on a phone?

On a phone, we could not find the Tools then Voice typing route that Google describes for a computer. The dictation you can check is your keyboard's own microphone. On Android, that is Gboard. On iPhone, it is Apple's Dictation. Either one should type into the Docs text field once it has focus, but we did not test that inside the Docs app, so check it on your phone before you plan a long draft.

Google's voice typing steps are written for a computer browser

Google's steps begin with opening a document in a supported browser, then choosing Tools, then Voice typing, and clicking the microphone box ¹. The browsers Google lists for the feature are Chrome, Edge and Safari ². Those steps are the ones that describe a menu, and they assume a browser window.

The December 2020 archived copy of Google's Docs help page is more limited still. It says the feature is only available in Chrome ³, and we found no mention of a phone, Android, iPhone or the Docs app in it. That is a 2020 page, so it does not rule out a change since then.

Google's current help page, in its 10 October 2026 archived copy, still describes voice typing in Google Docs and in Slides speaker notes ⁴. The parts of that page we checked do not describe a phone menu, so we cannot say what the full current page shows about phones. If you find a Voice typing menu inside the Docs app on your phone, follow the steps Google shows you there. If you do not, the keyboard route below is the one we could check.

On Android, Gboard's microphone does the dictating

Gboard is Google's keyboard app for Android, and its help describes voice typing in the steps below ⁵:

1. Tap a text field in the Docs document so the cursor is in it and the keyboard opens.
2. Tap the microphone at the top of the keyboard.
3. Wait for the prompt to say "Speak now", then speak.

When Gboard first uses the microphone, Android asks for a recording permission with three choices: While using app, Only this time or Don't allow ⁶. If the microphone does nothing, check that choice in your phone's app settings.

Gboard's speech recognizer runs on the phone. In 2019 Google moved Gboard voice typing onto the phone with an 80 MB recognizer that works offline, first on Pixel phones in American English ⁷. That fact is about Gboard, not Docs, and the 2019 launch covered only that language and those phones at the time. Your phone may differ.

On iPhone, Apple's Dictation works from the keyboard

On an iPhone, Dictation has to be turned on first. Go to Settings, tap General, then tap Keyboard, and turn on Enable Dictation ⁸. Apple says Dictation on iPhone is processed on the device in many languages and needs no internet connection ⁹.

Dictation can be used alongside typing. Apple says the keyboard stays open during Dictation, so you can switch between touch and voice to enter text ¹⁰. Dictation also stops on its own after a pause. On iPhone it stops automatically after 30 seconds without speech ¹¹, so for a long pause in thought, tap the dictation key again ¹².

We did not test Apple's Dictation or Gboard inside the Docs app. The Apple and Gboard pages we used do not mention Google Docs.

Check the phone before you dictate a long document

Test the route on the phone you will use, with the document you will work in:

1. Open a new Google Docs document in the Docs app and place the cursor in the body.
2. Start the keyboard's microphone (Gboard on Android, or Dictation on iPhone).
3. Speak two or three sentences. Say "period" or "new paragraph" to see whether your keyboard turns them into punctuation or breaks.
4. Read back the text and count the errors.

If the microphone does not appear, check the keyboard's settings and the microphone permission before you blame Docs. Our answers on where voice typing is in Google Docs and why it is not working list the checks that apply to the computer version.

Phone dictation has limits you should plan for

For typing on a phone without a microphone, see our question on how to type faster on a phone.

For the full picture of voice typing in Docs, read our guide to Google Docs voice typing. For a general definition of the term, see voice typing. If you want dictation on Mac or Windows instead of a phone, Yap, which we make, is an on-device dictation app for those computers, and the download page has the details.