Voice typing on a Mac
You learned the phrase on Windows or in Google Docs. On a Mac the same job has a different name, and a couple of traps.
Short answer: Voice typing on a Mac is Dictation. Turn it on in System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, then press the microphone or Globe key (or Fn twice on older keyboards) and talk. Google Docs also has its own Voice typing command under Tools, and that one sends audio to Google. For any app, including Terminal, a tool that types keystrokes and transcribes on the Mac covers the gaps.
Windows calls it voice typing. Google Docs uses the same words. macOS calls the built-in version Dictation. If you search the Mac settings for "voice typing" and find nothing, you are in the right place and looking for the wrong label.
How to turn on voice typing on a Mac
- Open the Apple menu, then System Settings.
- Click Keyboard.
- Turn Dictation on. Click Enable if macOS asks, and pick a language.
- Click a text field and press the microphone or Globe key. On older keyboards, press Fn twice.
That is Apple's Dictation, and the full version of the shortcut, the punctuation, and the offline rules is speech to text on a Mac. On an Apple silicon Mac it can run on the machine after the language file downloads. It stops after about 30 seconds of silence.
Google Docs voice typing is a different switch
In a Google Doc, the Tools menu has Voice typing. That is Google's feature. The audio goes to Google, and it only applies inside the Doc. Turning it on does not turn on Mac Dictation, and turning on Mac Dictation does not turn it off.
You can also put the cursor in the Doc and use Mac Dictation. Then the words come from macOS, into whatever field is focused, which happens to be the Doc. If Dictation works in Notes and not in the Doc, the Doc's own command is the one to try, and the other way around. Mac dictation not working walks the cases where the built-in path is silent.
Voice typing in any app, including Terminal
Apple Dictation writes into a text field. A terminal, especially over SSH, often has no text field it can write into, so the words never show up. Dictation over SSH is that failure, and the fix is a tool that sends real keystrokes.
MightyMouse types what you say into any Mac app by pressing the listen key, talking, and pressing it again. Transcription stays on the Mac. The model side of that is local Whisper on a Mac. If you do not want a hand on the key at all, hands-free dictation keeps listening until you tap to stop.
Voice typing from the couch is the phone. Use your iPhone as a microphone, hold the button, and the words land in the app on the Mac. An Android phone does the same thing. That is not Continuity Camera, which is a live mic for calls, not text.
What voice typing will not do
Saying "select that" or "delete the last sentence" is Voice Control, under Accessibility, not Dictation. Turning on voice typing does not turn those commands on. And none of these paths will transcribe a recording you already made. That is a file, and it needs a file tool such as MacWhisper.
Type by talking, in the app you are already in.
Transcription stays on your Mac. No card to try it.
Common questions
How do I turn on voice typing on a Mac?
Open System Settings, click Keyboard, and turn on Dictation. Then press the microphone or Globe key, or Fn twice on older keyboards, and talk in a text field.
Is voice typing the same as Mac Dictation?
Yes. Voice typing is the name Windows and Google Docs use. On a Mac the built-in feature is called Dictation and it lives under Keyboard.
Does Google Docs voice typing stay on my Mac?
No. The Voice typing command in the Docs Tools menu sends audio to Google. Mac Dictation is a separate feature and can run on an Apple silicon Mac after its language file downloads.
Can I voice type in Terminal on a Mac?
Apple Dictation often cannot, because a terminal is not a text field it can write into. A tool that sends keystrokes can. Over SSH the remote shell then sees ordinary typing.
When built-in voice typing stops at one text field: MightyMouse turns talking into typing in any Mac app, with transcription that stays on your Mac.