speech to text microsoft word windows 10

How to use speech to text in Microsoft Word

Speech to text in Microsoft Word is a hidden gem that is powerful and easy to use. We show you how to do it in five quick and simple steps

Master the skill of speech to text in Microsoft Word and you'll be dictating documents with ease before you know it. Developed and refined over many years, Microsoft's speech recognition and voice typing technology is an efficient way to get your thoughts out, create drafts and make notes.

Just like the best speech to text apps that make life easier for us when we're using our phones, Microsoft's offering is ideal for those of us who spend a lot of time using Word and don't want to wear out our fingers or the keyboard with all that typing. While speech to text in Microsoft Word used to be prone to errors which you'd then have to go back and correct, the technology has come a long way in recent years and is now amongst the best text-to-speech software .

Regardless of whether you have the best computer or the best Windows laptop , speech to text in Microsoft Word is easy to access and a breeze to use. From connecting your microphone to inserting punctuation, you'll find everything you need to know right here in this guide. Let's take a look...

How to use speech to text in Microsoft Word: Preparation

The most important thing to check is whether you have a valid Microsoft 365 subscription, as voice typing is only available to paying customers. If you’re reading this article, it’s likely your business already has a Microsoft 365 enterprise subscription. If you don’t, however, find out more about Microsoft 365 for business via this link . 

The second thing you’ll need before you start voice typing is a stable internet connection. This is because Microsoft Word’s dictation software processes your speech on external servers. These huge servers and lighting-fast processors use vast amounts of speech data to transcribe your text. In fact, they make use of advanced neural networks and deep learning technology, which enables the software to learn about human speech and continuously improve its accuracy. 

These two technologies are the key reason why voice typing technology has improved so much in recent years, and why you should be happy that Microsoft dictation software requires an internet connection. 

Once you’ve got a valid Microsoft 365 subscription and an internet connection, you’re ready to go!

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Step 1: Open Microsoft Word

Simple but crucial. Open the Microsoft Word application on your device and create a new, blank document. We named our test document “How to use speech to text in Microsoft Word - Test” and saved it to the desktop so we could easily find it later.

Step 2: Click on the Dictate button

Once you’ve created a blank document, you’ll see a Dictate button and drop-down menu on the top right-hand corner of the Home menu. It has a microphone symbol above it. From here, open the drop-down menu and double-check that the language is set to English.

One of the best parts of Microsoft Word’s speech to text software is its support for multiple languages. At the time of writing, nine languages were supported, with several others listed as preview languages. Preview languages have lower accuracy and limited punctuation support.

Step 3: Allow Microsoft Word access to the Microphone

If you haven’t used Microsoft Word’s speech to text software before, you’ll need to grant the application access to your microphone. This can be done at the click of a button when prompted.

It’s worth considering using an external microphone for your dictation, particularly if you plan on regularly using voice to text software within your organization. While built-in microphones will suffice for most general purposes, an external microphone can improve accuracy due to higher quality components and optimized placement of the microphone itself.

Step 4: Begin voice typing

Now we get to the fun stuff. After completing all of the above steps, click once again on the dictate button. The blue symbol will change to white, and a red recording symbol will appear. This means Microsoft Word has begun listening for your voice. If you have your sound turned up, a chime will also indicate that transcription has started. 

Using voice typing is as simple as saying aloud the words you would like Microsoft to transcribe. It might seem a little strange at first, but you’ll soon develop a bit of flow, and everyone finds their strategies and style for getting the most out of the software. 

These four steps alone will allow you to begin transcribing your voice to text. However, if you want to elevate your speech to text software skills, our fifth step is for you.

Step 5: Incorporate punctuation commands

Microsoft Word’s speech to text software goes well beyond simply converting spoken words to text. With the introduction and improvement of artificial neural networks, Microsoft’s voice typing technology listens not only to single words but to the phrase as a whole. This has enabled the company to introduce an extensive list of voice commands that allow you to insert punctuation marks and other formatting effects while speaking. 

We can’t mention all of the punctuation commands here, but we’ll name some of the most useful. Saying the command “period” will insert a period, while the command “comma” will insert, unsurprisingly, a comma. The same rule applies for exclamation marks, colons, and quotations. If you’d like to finish a paragraph and leave a line break, you can say the command “new line.” 

These tools are easy to use. In our testing, the software was consistently accurate in discerning words versus punctuation commands.

Microsoft’s speech to text software is powerful. Having tested most of the major platforms, we can say that Microsoft offers arguably the best product when balancing cost versus performance. This is because the software is built directly into Microsoft 365, which many businesses already use. If this applies to your business, you can begin using Microsoft’s voice typing technology straight away, with no additional costs. 

We hope this article has taught you how to use speech to text software in Microsoft Word, and that you’ll now be able to apply these skills within your organization. 

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This is how i fixed the windows update error 0x80070643, 5 reasons i’m still using windows 10 on my main pc, quick links, how to enable dictation and speech recognition in windows 10, typing with your voice in windows 10, how to disable dictation and speech recognition in windows 10.

If you're tired of typing with a keyboard, entering text can be as easy as using your voice in Windows 10. The OS includes built-in speech recognition and dictation features. Here's how to set them up.

Microsoft's dictation software is a useful way to write text quickly in Windows 10 using the Windows+h keyboard shortcut. But it may not already be enabled by default on your system, so you may have to make a quick trip to settings to enable it.

Begin by opening Windows Settings. To do so, open your Start menu and click the gear icon. You can also get there by pressing Windows+i on your keyboard.

In Settings, click "Ease of Access."

On the left pane, scroll down and click "Speech" in the sidebar. Under Speech settings, click the switch located below "Turn on Speech Recognition." It should switch over to the "On" position.

Keep in mind speech recognition is only available in a few languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese. To perform this action quickly, hit Windows+Ctrl+s to toggle speech recognition on or off instantly.

When you toggle speech recognition on for the first time, you will need to set it up to recognize your voice.

To perform the initial microphone setup , hook up either a headset microphone, desktop microphone, or other peripheral mics. Then follow the on-screen prompt to choose and calibrate your microphone. We recommend using a headset mic for dictation software.

Once the headset is connected, say the on-screen phrase into your microphone, so the system will capture your voice and be able to recognize it while using the program.

Finish up by selecting whether or not you want to allow the computer to review documents and email to help it improve speech recognition accuracy.

Once the setup is complete, you're ready to begin typing with your voice!

Related: How to Set Up and Test Microphones in Windows 10

After you've successfully set up your microphone, you can start typing with your voice. The wizard will ask you to toggle run Speech Recognition every time you start up the computer. Answer appropriately according to your preferences, and you're finally ready to start typing with your voice.

If you want to use dictation, select a text field and call up the dictation bar with Windows+h. We'll use a blank text document as an example. After hitting Windows+h, the dictation bar will pop up at the top of the screen:

Dictation will automatically turn on and prompt you to speak once you call up the dictation bar. If it doesn't, simply click the microphone icon to enable it.

Begin speaking into your microphone. Speak in complete, deliberate sentences. You can say whatever you like, and you'll see it typed on the screen as you go along. Here are some tips while you dictate:

• Punctuation: To add punctuation, say the name of the punctuation mark you want to use as you work.  For example, say "period" to place a period at the end of a sentence, or say "comma," "E-M dash," "semicolon," "exclamation point," or "question mark" to add those punctuation makes to your document.
• Parentheses: For parentheses, say "open parentheses" to start a parenthetical phrase and "close parenthesis" to end the phrase.
• Numerical Values : Say "numerical" followed by a number to type out the numerical values.
• Navigating Paragraphs: To move to the next paragraph, say "next line" or "next paragraph."
• Deleting Text: To delete words, say "delete," followed by the word you want to delete. You can also say "delete previous sentence" to get rid of an entire sentence you no longer wish to keep in the document.
• Selecting: To select a word, say "select," followed by the word you wish to highlight.
• Move to Beginning or End of Sentence: If you want to go to the beginning or end of a sentence, say "go to start of the sentence" or "go to the end of the sentence. This also works for navigating paragraphs and the start or end of a document.

Remember to speak clearly and avoid speaking too fast, as it can mess with your writing flow as the software tries to catch up your pace (When talking fast, we experienced some input lag until we slowed down a bit).

Stop dictating by say, "stop dictating." To turn it back on---or if it cuts out unexpectedly---click the microphone on the dictation bar to re-enable it:

Dictation will allow you to use your voice to write things faster and easier than if you were typing them, and it's pretty fun too.

Dictation software is ideal for a number of uses, but there you may decide to disable it at some point. If you accidentally enable dictation or simply no longer wish to use it, disabling it is fairly straightforward. All you need to do is hit Windows+h again to toggle it off.

If you want to shut off speech recognition entirely, so you don't accidentally start dictation, disable it by using Windows+Ctrl+s. This will completely disable speech recognition.

Alternatively, head back to Windows Settings. Click "Ease of Access" again, find "Speech," and flip the switch beneath the words "Turn on Speech Recognition" to the "off" position.

Remember, you can always turn speech recognition back on and use the dictation feature any time with Windows+H. Happy writing!

Jan 31, 2023

Transcribe comes to Word for Windows

Abhinav Santoshi

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Hi, Microsoft 365 Insiders! My name is Abhinav Santoshi and I’m a Product Manager on the Office Voice team. I’m excited to share with you the availability of the Transcribe feature you love in Word for Windows.

Transcribe in Word for Windows

Tired of manually transcribing audio recordings from meetings, interviews, and lectures? Look no further! The highly anticipated Transcribe feature is now available in Word for Windows. It allows you to convert speech to a text transcript, with each speaker individually separated. 

Imagine being able to focus on delivering a speech, conducting an interview, recording a lecture, taking class notes, or attending a presentation, all while knowing you can listen back and read the transcript afterwards. The Transcribe feature also allows you to play back timestamped audio and edit the transcript to make corrections. Plus, you can save the full transcript as a Word document or insert snippets of it into existing documents.  

How it works 

You can transcribe speech in two ways:  

• Record directly in Word
• Upload an audio file

Record in Word 

You can record directly in Word while taking notes, and then transcribe the recording.  Word transcribes in the background as you record. You’ll see the transcript after you click the  Save and transcribe now  button. 

• If it is your first-time transcribing, give the Word app permission to use your mic.  How to set up and test microphones in Windows (microsoft.com)
• Go to Home > Dictate > Transcribe .

• In the Transcribe pane, select the Start recording button.

• Start talking or begin a conversation with another person, or start recording a lecture. Be sure to speak clearly or make sure the incoming audio is clear.
• When finished, click the Save and transcribe now button to save your recording to OneDrive and start the transcription process.

NOTE: The OneDrive account where your audio is being uploaded will be shown in transcription pane. Currently you can only create one new transcription per page. 

Upload an audio file 

You can upload a pre-recorded audio file to transcribe the recording. This is useful when you want to refer to a past lecture or training session and be able to listen to the content again. 

• Choose an existing audio file from the file picker, and then click the Open button.

NOTE: Transcribe currently supports the .wav, .mp4, .m4a, and .mp3 formats. 

Scenarios to try 

Play and pause recording .

• Pause the recording by selecting the Pause (Active Mic) button. 

• Resume recording by selecting the Record (Inactive Mic) button.

Play back the audio 

• Open the Word document that contains the transcribed recording and select Home  >  Dictate > Transcribe .
• Press the Play button to start playing back your recording.

Notice that the relevant transcript section is highlighted as the audio plays. You can also easily jump to a specific moment in your recording by clicking the timestamp to recall more context. 

Adjust the volume and the playback speed 

Relabel a speaker or edit a section .

• The transcription service identifies and separates different speakers and labels them Speaker 1, Speaker 2, and so on. 

NOTE : You can edit the speaker label and change all occurrences of it to something else. 

• You can also edit the content of a section to correct any issues in transcription.

Add a transcript to the page 

From the Transcribe pane, you can add the entire transcript, or specific sections of it, to your Word document. 

Requirements 

• Active Microsoft 365 subscription. NOTE:  No entry point into the Transcribe will be available unless you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber. 
• Have a stable internet connection.
• Transcribe is not available for GCC/GCC-H/DOD customers.

Privacy 

This feature does not store your content or audio data. Microsoft only uses your content to provide you with audio results. For more information about experiences that analyze your content, see   Connected Experiences in Office . 

List of supported languages 

Availability  

This feature is rolling out to Beta Channel users running Version 2302 (Build 16107.20000) or later. 

Don’t have it yet? It is probably us, not you. 

Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they are slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it.  

Feedback  

We want to hear from you! Please share your feedback about the Transcribe experience with us right from the app by tapping the File > Send Feedback  button in the app window.   

Learn what  other information you should include in your feedback  to ensure it is actionable and reaches the right people. We are excited to hear from you!   

Sorry, JavaScript must be enabled to use this app.

PCMag editors select and review products independently . If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing .

How to Dictate Text in Microsoft Office

There are a few different ways to dictate text in microsoft office depending on the version you use. here’s how to do it in word, powerpoint, and other applications..

Why type documents the old-fashioned way in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote when you can dictate the text instead? Whether you have a disability, medical condition, or are looking to save time, Microsoft’s Dictate tool can help you get your work done.

Based on a Microsoft Garage project that was developed to test dictation in Office applications, Microsoft Dictate has been implemented across Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, as well as the free versions of Word for the web , OneNote for the web, and the OneNote app for Windows. Here's how to use it across these apps.

Dictate in Word for Microsoft 365

If you have a subscription for Microsoft 365 , launch Microsoft Word and open a document. Position your cursor where you want to start dictating. Click the Dictate icon on the Home Ribbon. The first time you do this, Word may ask for permission to use your microphone. Grant permission and start speaking.

Dictate words, punctuation, and specific actions, such as "new line" and "new paragraph." You may want to dictate just a few sentences or a single paragraph at a time and then stop so you can review your text for any mistakes. To stop dictating, press the Dictate icon again. 

After activating the tool, click the Settings icon on the small Microsoft Dictate toolbar. Here, you can change and test the microphone to make sure that your words are being picked up. Turn on Auto Punctuation so your dictation automatically includes periods, commas, and other marks without you needing to speak them.

You can also turn the profanity filter on or off. With this filter on, any naughty words show up as a series of asterisks. After making any changes in the Settings window, click Save.

You’re even able to dictate text in other languages. Click the Settings icon on the Dictate window. Move to the command for Spoken Languages and choose the language you wish to use.

Transcribe in Word

Microsoft Word also offers a Transcribe feature in which you can record your words and save them as an audio file (.wav, .mp4, .m4a, or .mp3) or upload an existing audio file. You can then import the transcribed words into your current document. To try this, click the down arrow on the Dictate button and select Transcribe. In the Transcribe sidebar, click Upload audio .

Select the file you wish to import. After the transcribed words appear, click the Play button to listen to them. Click Add to Document and you can choose to add just the text, add the text with speaker names, add the text with timestamps, or add the text with speaker names and timestamps. Select the option you want, and the text appears in your document.

To record a new transcription, click the Start recording button instead and then speak your words. When done, click the microphone icon. Play the transcription to make sure it’s correct. Click the pencil icon to edit any words. Click the Plus icon next to a sentence to insert it into your document. Click the Add to Document button to add all the text to your document.

Dictate in PowerPoint

Launch PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 and open a new or existing presentation. Click the Dictate icon on the Ribbon and dictate your text. When finished, click the icon again to stop the dictation.

Just like Word, PowerPoint can handle other languages for dictation. To try this, click the down arrow on the Dictate button, choose the language in which you want to dictate, and then speak the words you want to add.

Dictate in Word for the Web

To use Microsoft Office on the web , sign in with your Microsoft Account. At the main Office screen, click the icon for Word. Open a document and click the Dictate icon on the Home Ribbon and dictate your text. When finished, click the icon again to turn off Dictation.

To use the transcription feature, click the down arrow on the Dictate button and select Transcribe. To view the different settings and see other languages available for dictation, click the Settings icon on the Dictate toolbar.

Dictate in OneNote

You can dictate text in two different versions of OneNote. Either go to Office on the web and choose OneNote or use the OneNote Windows app . In either version, open a OneNote document, click the Dictate button on the Home Ribbon and start dictating. Click it again to stop. Click the Down arrow to see other languages for dictation.

Dictate in Office on Your Mobile Device

Your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices offer built-in dictation features accessible from the keyboard. These tools support Microsoft 365 apps and other text-based programs. To dictate text in an Office document, tap in any area to display the keyboard and select the microphone icon. You can then dictate the words you want to add. Tap on any area of the screen to stop the dictation.

Use Windows Speech Recognition

The Microsoft Office Dictate tool doesn't work with Excel or earlier versions of Office, and Dictate doesn't offer you a way to easily correct mistakes, add words to a dictionary, or manage settings. One option that can get past these limitations is the Windows Speech Recognition tool built directly into Windows 10 and 11.

The tool is compatible with any Windows program, including all versions of Office, such as Microsoft 365, Office 2019, and prior versions. Open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or any other program, and hold down the Win key and press H to open a dictation toolbar at the top of the screen. Then begin dictating.

You can dictate punctuation marks and specific actions for moving around the screen. For example, say "tab" to move to the next cell in the column, or "new line" to move to the next cell in the row. Say things like "Undo that" to erase the last word you dictated. Microsoft provides a full list of phrases and actions you can dictate with Windows speech recognition.

If you open Control Panel in Windows 10 or 11 and click Speech Recognition, you can set up a microphone, train the speech recognition, or take a speech tutorial. 

Use Third-Party Programs

If you don’t want to use one of Microsoft’s solutions, there are many third-party voice-dictation programs that work with Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, other applications, and Windows as a whole. Some of these products come with a premium price tag, but they also provide more power and flexibility than you will find in Microsoft’s built-in tools.

For instance, Nuance’s Dragon Professional program costs $699. Meanwhile, Braina offers a Lite version for free and a Pro version that runs $79 per year or $199 for lifetime use.

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About Lance Whitney

My experience.

I've been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I've written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I've also written two books for Wiley & Sons— Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn .

My Areas of Expertise

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How to set up speech-to-text in Windows 10

Are you ready to start dictating your documents and text using just your voice? Instead of offering separated dictation or speech-to-text capabilities, Windows 10 conveniently groups its voice commands under Speech Recognition , which interprets the spoken word across the operating system for various tasks. We’ll teach you how to get everything ready, as well as how to enable speech-to-text in Windows 10, so you can start chatting away to your favorite OS and improve Windows’ “ear” for your voice.

Finding a mic

Setting up speech recognition, training your computer and more, related guides.

• How to use Windows 10
• Best dictation software

Note: Speech recognition is only currently available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

Before you start, you must be sure that you have the correct hardware for speech-to-text options. It’s easy to overlook this step as we assume that all devices come with built-in mics these days.

However, the issue here is quality. Built-in mics can work well for simple tasks, like Skype conversations or voice commands, but they can also cause distortion, especially with speech-to-text options. In the past, Microsoft has warned that its speech-recognition features are best suited for headset microphones that interpret sounds with greater clarity and are less susceptible to ambient noise. If you really want to use speech recognition on Windows 10, you should get a quality headset that works well with your computer.

If you’re going to invest in hardware, you should do it as soon as possible. Once you train the speech features, it can be difficult to switch devices. Should you decide to buy a mic, follow these steps to make sure Windows knows that you want it to be your primary microphone, even over previous mics:

Step 1: In the Windows search box, type “speech.” Doing so will bring up an option to go to Speech Recognition in the Control Panel. Select this. When the window opens, select Set Up Microphone to begin.

Step 2: Now, choose whether you are using a headset mic or a desktop mic and select Next . Windows will give you some tips on mic placement, then ask you to read a sentence. Read the sentence into your mic, and select Next (there’s no grade or test to pass).

Step 3: If everything worked well, your mic should now be set up. Select Finish to complete the task.

With your mic ready, it’s time to start configuring your various speech-recognition capabilities. In Windows 10, this is a more seamless process than it has been in the past. These steps and tutorials will affect an array of Windows programs, but you may also want to make sure dictation is enabled in any writing apps that you prefer to use. Begin with the steps below.

Step 1: In the Windows 10 search box, type “speech,” and select Windows Speech Recognition in the results.

Step 2: Select Start Speech Recognition to begin. If Windows 10 still doesn’t recognize your mic, it will have you go through the mic setup steps again at this point, then begin the speech recognition setup.

Step 3: One of the choices in the setup process is whether to enable D ocument Review or not. This option tells Windows to look at your emails and documents in your search index and look at the words you frequently use. It can help with the recognition software, but it isn’t a necessary step, so choose what you feel comfortable with.

Step 4: Now decide whether you want speech-to-text to be activated with a keyboard or vocal command and click Next . Use the reference sheet to familiarize yourself with commands you can make and continue through the other preferences. While Windows offers to print out the commands for you, you can easily access them on Microsoft’s website by going here .

Step 5: Windows will also ask if you want to start speech recognition every time you start the computer. If you are using speech recognition for accessibility reasons, this may be an excellent mode to enable.

You should now be ready to go. You can enable or disable speech to text by pressing the Ctrl + Windows keys at any time.

You’re all set at this point to use speech-to-text with a variety of files within Windows Docs. But first, you might want to take the time to fine-tune Windows’ voice-recognition capabilities. With a little training, Microsoft’s latest software can learn your voice and process it to text with greater accuracy.

Step 1: Go to the Ease of Access menu. Click on Speech Recognition .

Step 2: Select Train Your Computer to Better Understand You .

Step 3: Windows will have you read out extended sequences of text, which will help it learn the particular quirks of your voice and intonation, allowing it to understand your voice better.

Near the bottom of the speech-recognition menu is the Speech Reference Card, which is a helpful tool. It provides a cheat sheet on controlling software programs verbally, for those new to voice commands. You can access the cheats in either a small side screen or a print-out.

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Harness the power of your voice 

Now more than ever, we’re all very busy—juggling family, work, friends, and whatever else life throws our way. New enhancements in Office leverage the  Azure Cognitive Services  AI platform so you can harness the power of your voice to spend less time and energy creating your best work and focus on what matters most. 

Save time and create great content using Transcribe in Word for the web 

Whether you’re a reporter conducting interviews, a researcher recording focus group sessions, or an online entrepreneur recording informal discussions, you want to be able to focus on the people you’re talking to without worrying about taking notes and without having to spend hours transcribing your conversations after-the-fact. If that sounds like you,  Transcribe in Word  is here to help.

Now you can record your conversations directly in Word for the web and transcribe them automatically. Transcribe detects different speakers so after you finish recording, you can easily follow the flow of the transcript. After your conversation, you can revisit parts of the recording by playing back the time-stamped audio and you can even edit the transcript if you see something amiss.  

Your transcript will appear alongside the Word document, along with the recording, which enables you to leverage your transcript to create great content in the way that is best for you. Say you want to pull the perfect quote from an interview to support the main point of your story—just click the plus icon on any line of the transcript and voila, the exact quote is inserted. Want to send the entire transcript to your colleague? Simply click “add all to document” and your full transcript will be laid out in Word. 

Like many people, you might use a variety of tools to get the job done – that’s why Transcribe enables you to upload audio or videos you recorded outside of Word. Whether you record on your phone or via one of the many calling and video conferencing apps, you can simply select the file to upload and transcribe. Transcribe supports .mp3, .wav, .m4a, or .mp4 files.  

Transcribe in Word is available today in Word for the web for all Microsoft 365 subscribers and is supported in the new Microsoft Edge or Chrome browsers.  With Transcribe you are completely unlimited in how much you can record and transcribe within Word for the Web.  Currently, there is a five hour limit per month for uploaded recordings and each uploaded recording is limited to 200mb. Transcribe in Office mobile will be coming by the end of the year! Currently, transcribing audio into English (EN-US) is the only language supported, but we are working on support for more languages.

Transcribe in Word enables you to stay focused on your conversation in the moment, saves you valuable time and energy by transcribing it for you, and is integrated into Word so you can focus on the message of your document and not fuss around with different windows or applications. 

Break away from the keyboard using dictation with voice commands 

Since  Dictate  arrived on the scene, millions of people have leveraged the power of their voice to conquer the blank page. Whether you’re stuck waiting in the car to pick up takeout, on a short walk to stretch your legs, have a temporary or permanent disability that makes typing difficult, or you just think better when on the move, you need flexibility to transition throughout your day while getting everything done. We’ve been adding voice commands to Dictate so that you can break away from the keyboard. Whether on desktop or mobile (or transitioning between devices), you can stay in the flow and focus on your message by using dictation with voice commands to add, format, edit, and organize your text.  

Say things like “start list” or “bold last sentence” to let your ideas flow without stopping to adjust your text. Voice commands understand a variety of symbols so you can add things like “ampersand” and “percent sign”, and you don’t have to sound like a robot! We’ve based commands on the way people naturally talk so that you can capture your ideas easily. So saying things like “dot dot dot” when you can’t remember “ellipses” works just as well. 

Since you’re constantly juggling work and life, you may get that phone call you’ve been waiting for while working on your paper. There’s no need to rush to the keyboard in a panic. Simply say “pause dictation” and take the call. Working with others in the document? You can collaborate using your voice too—say “add comment [with your content here]” and capture your message in one shot without missing a beat.  

Dictation can also help with informal writing as well—sometimes a message needs some personality! You can now say things like “smiley face” or “heart emoji” to give your message that little extra touch. Check out  this article  for a list of all the voice commands. 

Dictate with voice commands in Word is available in Word for the web and Office mobile for free when signed into your Microsoft account. Voice commands are coming to Word desktop and Word for Mac apps towards the end of the year for Microsoft 365 subscribers.  

We hope these new voice capabilities save you time and allow you the flexibility you require as you move throughout your busy day!

How to use speech-to-text on a Windows computer to quickly dictate text without typing

• You can use the speech-to-text feature on Windows to dictate text in any window, document, or field that you could ordinarily type in.  
• To get started with speech-to-text, you need to enable your microphone and turn on speech recognition in "Settings."
• Once configured, you can press Win + H to open the speech recognition control and start dictating. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

One of the lesser known major features in Windows 10 is the ability to use speech-to-text technology to dictate text rather than type. If you have a microphone connected to your computer, you can have your speech quickly converted into text, which is handy if you suffer from repetitive strain injuries or are simply an inefficient typist.

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It's likely that speech-to-text is not turned on by default, so you need to enable it before you start dictating to Windows.

1. Click the "Start" button and then click "Settings," designated by a gear icon.

2. Click "Time & Language."

3. In the navigation pane on the left, click "Speech."

4. If you've never set up your microphone, do it now by clicking "Get started" in the Microphone section. Follow the instructions to speak into the microphone, which calibrates it for dictation. 

5. Scroll down and click "Speech, inking, & typing privacy settings" in the "Related settings" section. Then slide the switch to "On" in the "Online speech recognition" section. If you don't have the sliding switch, this may appear as a button called "Turn on speech services and typing suggestions."

How to use speech-to-text on Windows

Once you've turned speech-to-text on, you can start using it to dictate into any window or field that accepts text. You can dictate into word processing apps, Notepad, search boxes, and more. 

1. Open the app or window you want to dictate into. 

2. Press Win + H. This keyboard shortcut opens the speech recognition control at the top of the screen. 

3. Now just start speaking normally, and you should see text appear. 

If you pause for more than a few moments, Windows will pause speech recognition. It will also pause if you use the mouse to click in a different window. To start again, click the microphone in the control at the top of the screen. You can stop voice recognition for now by closing the control at the top of the screen. 

Common commands you should know for speech-to-text on Windows

In general, Windows will convert anything you say into text and place it in the selected window. But there are many commands that, rather than being translated into text, will tell Windows to take a specific action. Most of these commands are related to editing text, and you can discover many of them on your own – in fact, there are dozens of these commands. Here are the most important ones to get you started:

• Punctuation . You can speak punctuation out loud during dictation. For example, you can say "Dear Steve comma how are you question mark." 
• New line . Saying "new line" has the same effect as pressing the Enter key on the keyboard.
• Stop dictation . At any time, you can say "stop dictation," which has the same effect as pausing or clicking another window. 
• Go to the [start/end] of [document/paragraph] . Windows can move the cursor to various places in your document based on a voice command. You can say "go to the start of the document," or "go to the end of the paragraph," for example, to quickly start dictating text from there. 
• Undo that . This is the same as clicking "Undo" and undoes the last thing you dictated. 
• Select [word/paragraph] . You can give commands to select a word or paragraph. It's actually a lot more powerful than that – you can say things like "select the previous three paragraphs." 

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to use your ipad as a second monitor for your windows computer, you can use text-to-speech in the kindle app on an ipad using an accessibility feature— here's how to turn it on, how to use text-to-speech on discord, and have the desktop app read your messages aloud, how to use google text-to-speech on your android phone to hear text instead of reading it, 2 ways to lock a windows computer from your keyboard and quickly secure your data.

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Watch: A diehard Mac user switches to PC

• Main content

How to use voice dictation on Windows 10

Windows 10 includes a new voice-to-text feature, and in this guide, we'll help you to get started with the experience.

The Fall Creators Update to Windows 10 brought a new dictation feature that allows you to translate spoken words into text a lot easier than before — and in any app and across the desktop experience.

Dictation joins the touch keyboard and handwriting as input options, and is very similar to Speech Recognition that's also part of Windows 10 . Dictation focuses exclusively on converting voice into text, so you can't you can't use it to navigate the desktop and apps using your voice as you can with Speech Recognition.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the easy steps to start using voice dictation on your device.

How to get started with dictation on Windows 10

If you have a microphone connected to your device, dictation will be enabled by default, and you'll be able to access it using the Windows key + H keyboard shortcut or clicking the microphone button in the touch keyboard experience.

In order to properly invoke the dictation panel, make sure to place the mouse cursor on any text field, and then use the Windows key + H shortcut.

When the voice dictation panel appears, and you see the microphone icon in blue, you can immediately start dictating. However, bear in mind that using this experience, you'll also need to speak the punctuation and to dictate a symbol or letter, you'll need to use the "start spelling" command, and then speak the symbol or letter.

For example, if you want to say "Microsoft sells software, hardware, and accessories." with the quotation marks, you'll need to say open quote microsoft sells software comma hardware comma and accessories period close quote .

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In the same way, to input a letter using uppercase, you must use the "uppercase" command, followed by the letter. For example, uppercase m will give you an M.

Once you're done, say "stop dictating," or after five seconds of inactivity, dictation will turn off automatically.

If the panel gets in the way, you can always drag it around the desktop. When you're done dictating, you can dismiss it pressing any key in the keyboard, clicking anywhere outside of the experience, or clicking the close (X) button on the right.

The up arrow button allows you to open the touch keyboard or handwriting experience, whichever you were using last.

Windows 10 dictation commands

Here's a list of the most common dictation commands that you can use. The words using "quotation marks" are just examples. You'll need to replace them with different words to perform your task.

If you want to learn more about the punctuation and symbol commands you can use, check out this Microsoft support page .

Wrapping things up

Overall the experience using dictation on Windows 10 is good, but not perfect, as you may find it not very reliable all the time. For example, during my test, repeatedly saying "uppercase w" would keep on writing the words "uppercase" and "W."

In addition, it's not capable of recognizing punctuations automatically. It's limited to users running the US English version of Windows 10. And despite the fact that you can use some of the Speech Recognition commands, you'll notice the absence of the commands to navigate the desktop or app using your voice.

However, improvements and changes to dictation, such as an updated interface and customization options in the Settings app are expected to arrive in the next version of Windows 10 .

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

• Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you need to know
• Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
• Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.

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Why ChatGPT’s Speech to Text Is the Best I’ve Ever Used

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5 ai-powered language learning apps worth trying, power up your pdfs: these 9 apps turn them into fillable forms, quick links, chatgpt is better than google’s voice typing, what makes chatgpt’s speech-to-text function so good, note-taking using chatgpt on my phone, voice typing using chatgpt on my desktop, key takeaways.

• ChatGPT’s speech-to-text is superior to Google’s, eliminating the need to say punctuation out loud.
• WhisperAI neural network powers ChatGPT for flawless transcription, despite a lack of integration with keyboard apps.
• Use ChatGPT effortlessly on Android, iPhone, macOS, and soon on Windows for efficient note-taking and transcription.

You have to speak it to believe it; ChatGPT’s fantastic speech-to-text function, that is. It’s proved to be far smoother and more precise than some of the most established voice-to-text apps.

Google’s voice typing is a tool I’ve used on and off for years. It comes with the SwiftKey keyboard app and Google’s own Gboard keyboard for mobile phones. It was good for a time—above average, in fact—but not anymore. ChatGPT has leaped ahead of the competition, and the results are slick.

If you’ve ever used Google’s voice typing, you will know how awkward it is to say “comma” or “period” out loud each time you want to add punctuation to your text. In ChatGPT, there’s no need. You can speak as naturally as if you’re having a chat with your friend, and it will effortlessly add punctuation where you would expect it to go.

This makes a huge difference. Take this sentence, for example: “I want to go to the supermarket and buy apples, oranges, watermelon, pears, and cherries.” To dictate it using Google’s voice typing, you would need to say “...apples comma oranges comma watermelon comma pears comma and cherries.” Repeating the word “comma” five times is clunky and unnatural.

ChatGPT does an incredible job of converting speech to text thanks to WhisperAI, an advanced neural network. OpenAI released it as an open-source model aimed at people wanting to develop this technology into useful applications. Which brings us to a key sticking point. ChatGPT’s speech-to-text function is not yet integrated into something like a voice typing keyboard.

Despite this, I have begun using it all the time in my workflow. Even though Google’s voice typing is easily accessible from my keyboard, I end up wasting a lot of time fixing its mistakes. At one point, I started speaking in short fragments—think robocalls and computerized speech—to help it pick up my speech better.

That’s why I am happily using ChatGPT’s speech-to-text with a small workaround. In the end, it’s going to save me far more time and effort, besides letting me talk naturally.

ChatGPT is available on Android , iPhone , and macOS (M1 and later).

Those using Windows computers can expect a desktop app for ChatGPT in late 2024.

I write notes for my articles using pen and paper. This is, ironically, a very low-tech approach for a tech writer! While I enjoy it, eventually I need to get those words into a digital format if they are going to be of any use to me.

My preferred place to transfer my ideas to is a note-taking app. Google Keep, for example, is good because it automatically syncs your notes online and between devices. Or there’s Obsidian, my new favorite way to organize my thoughts into long-term storage. In the long run, it’s best to aim for a note-taking app that works on any device for added convenience.

My process is simple. Open ChatGPT and hit the microphone button, then start speaking. After that, press stop to convert the audio to text. Finally, copy the text and paste it into a note-taking app.

At my desktop, I follow the same process. The app looks nearly identical to the mobile version, so you simply need to press the microphone button to start recording, then press the tick button when you’re done. After this, you can copy the text to where it needs to go, such as a Word document or an email.

Sometimes it’s good to have a record of your transcription directly in ChatGPT. In that case, you can add the line, “Do not comment:” immediately before the transcribed text, then hit enter to add it to ChatGPT’s conversation feed. This stops ChatGPT from replying with a long-winded answer, with the added benefit of maintaining a record of your transcriptions.

There are plenty of things you can do with ChatGPT besides converting speech to text, making it a nice multipurpose app to have on hand.

It won’t be long before this speech-to-text AI model makes its way into voice typing apps or transcription tools. Until then, you can use ChatGPT to produce clean and accurate transcriptions for spots of note-taking, brainstorming, or dictation.

• Productivity
• Speech to Text

Get started with Copilot in OneDrive

Introducing copilot in onedrive.

Copilot in OneDrive is an innovative AI-powered assistant designed to revolutionize the way you interact with your files and streamline your workflow.

Managing numerous files can be overwhelming and time-consuming, and Copilot aims to solve a central problem: reducing the preparatory work needed before you can focus on your actual tasks.

This intelligent tool enhances your OneDrive experience in four key ways:

Extract information from multiple files in your OneDrive without even opening them

Compare the key differences between documents in just a single-click

Quickly summarize files in your OneDrive so that staying updated on important files doesn't take you hours

Generate insights from your documents and jumpstart your work with the help of Copilot

By integrating these capabilities, Copilot in OneDrive transforms your file management process, enabling you to spend less time on file-related logistics and more time on meaningful work, ultimately boosting your productivity and efficiency in the digital workspace.

Note:  Copilot in OneDrive is currently available on OneDrive Web for commercial users only.

Ask about your files

Copilot in OneDrive offers a powerful feature that allows users to find information and answer questions across their files. This time-saving tool can search through up to 5 selected files, supporting various document types except for videos and images.

Users can access this feature by signing into OneDrive.com with their Microsoft work or school account and activating Copilot for single or multiple files. The Copilot chat panel provides suggested prompts, but users can also input custom questions ranging from specific data queries to requests for document improvement suggestions or even creative tasks like outlining a sales pitch based on selected files.

To get the most accurate and helpful responses, users are encouraged to provide detailed, specific questions. Additionally, Copilot supports speech-to-text input for added convenience, making it a versatile and efficient tool for information retrieval and document analysis.

To learn more, check out the Ask about your files with Copilot in OneDrive article.

Compare your files

Copilot in OneDrive introduces a powerful file comparison feature that allows users to analyze up to 5 selected files simultaneously without the need to open them individually. This tool streamlines the process of identifying differences and similarities across multiple documents, proving invaluable in various professional scenarios.

Example use cases of this feature include but are not limited to contract analysis, job application review, document versioning, legal document review, and financial report analysis. The feature can detect differences in various aspects such as date, time, title, author, last modified information, content summary, location, and key participants.

Users can access this functionality by signing into OneDrive.com with their Microsoft work or school account and selecting up to 5 files for comparison. While the feature doesn't support videos and images, it provides a chat interface for users to ask more specific questions about the compared documents. This capability significantly enhances productivity in document management tasks, enabling users to quickly spot changes, identify trends, and make informed decisions based on comprehensive file comparisons.

To learn more about comparing your files, check out the Compare your files with Copilot in OneDrive article.

Summarize your files

Copilot in OneDrive introduces a powerful file summarization feature that allows users to generate summaries of various document types stored on OneDrive Web, including Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, and Word documents, without the need to open them individually.

This feature supports both single and multiple file summarization (up to 5 files at once) and works with files that have been shared with or by the user. While it doesn't support videos and images, Copilot can provide summaries on specific topics within documents and handle complex requests, such as creating separate sections for different types of data.

Users can access this feature through the Copilot button on the OneDrive Web interface, making it a convenient tool for quickly understanding document contents and enhancing productivity in document management and analysis tasks.

To learn more about summarizing your files, see the Summarize your files with Copilot in OneDrive article. 

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