SpeechBee

Guide

AI dictation on a Mac

Talking is fast. Talking in finished paragraphs is not, so most dictated text needs a tidy-up before it goes anywhere. AI dictation does that tidy-up for you: it takes what you said and shapes it into the email, message, notes or prompt you were going to write anyway.

By the SpeechBee team, who make SpeechBee. Checked on 15 October 2026

On this page
  1. What AI dictation actually does
  2. The free way: dictate, then Writing Tools
  3. Writing modes in SpeechBee
  4. When to leave the AI off
  5. Questions
  6. Keep reading
  7. Sources

What AI dictation actually does

Ordinary dictation writes down your words, including "so, um, basically what I wanted to say is". The first job of the AI step is cleanup: fillers gone, false starts dropped, a sentence where you changed your mind kept only in its final form.

The second job is shaping. The same thirty seconds of speech can become three short paragraphs for an email, one friendly line for Slack, a bullet list for your notes, or a structured prompt for ChatGPT. That is where it saves real time, because the shaping is the part you would otherwise do by hand.

The free way: dictate, then Writing Tools

On a Mac with Apple Intelligence, you can dictate with Apple Dictation, select the text, and use Writing Tools to proofread it or rewrite it in a friendlier, more professional or more concise tone. It is free and private. It is also two steps for every piece of text, and it only offers those set tones. We compare the two approaches in Writing Tools vs dictation cleanup.

Writing modes in SpeechBee

Voice to text
New message

Hi Maya, I'll send the revised proposal tomorrow morning.

SpeechBee's listening indicator on Mac
Hold your key, talk, let go. The text lands at the cursor.
Text to speech
Article

Most people read faster than they speak. SpeechBee reads the sentence you selected out loud, while you keep working.

SpeechBee's Read Aloud player on Mac
Select text, press your reading key, listen.

SpeechBee, which we make, applies a writing mode to each dictation before it pastes it. The built-in modes:

ModeWhat you get
CleanYour words, with fillers, repetitions and false starts removed
EmailThe body of a clear email in short paragraphs, your points in order. A greeting or sign-off only if you said one
MessageA short, natural chat message, no greeting unless spoken
NotesConcise bullet points, one idea per line
Prompt for AIA structured prompt: the goal first, then the context and constraints you gave
FormalA polished, professional tone
CasualA relaxed, friendly tone

Every mode keeps your names, numbers and technical terms, writes in the language you spoke, and adds no facts. If you dictate a question, the mode rewrites the question; it never answers it.

Set it up

  1. Open SpeechBee's Settings, then Text Cleanup.
  2. Under AI cleanup, set Mode to On this Mac. This needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence turned on.
  3. Choose a Writing mode. You can also switch modes from the menu bar.
  4. Dictate as usual. The shaped text lands at the cursor.

No Apple Intelligence? Choose With my AI service and connect your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini key, or a local Ollama or LM Studio model. SpeechBee then pastes your normal dictation first and sends the text, never the audio, to that service only when you choose Clean Last Transcript.

A different mode for each app

Dictate once in Mail, then in Settings, Advanced, choose Edit Last App Profile and set its writing mode to Email. Do the same in Slack with Message, and in ChatGPT or Cursor with Prompt for AI. From then on SpeechBee picks the right mode by itself, depending on where your cursor is.

Write your own mode

Click New next to the writing mode and give it a name and an instruction of up to 1,000 characters. You can keep up to 20. Some that work well:

  • Standup update: "Format as three short lines: Yesterday, Today, Blockers."
  • Support reply: "Write a warm, concise reply to a customer. Thank them once. Keep any steps as a numbered list."
  • Commit message: "Write a git commit message: an imperative summary under 60 characters, a blank line, then a short body."
  • Plain English: "Rewrite in short sentences a 12-year-old would understand."

Add translation

Writing modes combine with translation. Speak in your language, pick a target under Translate To, and SpeechBee shapes the text first and translates it last, on your Mac. See translate while you dictate.

When to leave the AI off

AI cleanup is off by default in SpeechBee, and for good reasons. Leave it off for anything that must say exactly what you said: quotes, legal wording, code, or a message to someone who knows how you talk. Clean mode, or no AI at all, still removes the "um"s and keeps the sentence yours.

Talk the rough version, paste the finished one. Free for 7 days.

Voice to text and Read Aloud on your Mac, iPhone and iPad. After the week, $9 a month, $79 a year, or $99 once. Every plan has every feature.

Download for MacGet it for iPhone & iPad

Questions

Does Mac dictation have AI cleanup?

Apple Dictation does not reshape what you say. On Macs with Apple Intelligence you can rewrite the text afterwards with Writing Tools. SpeechBee's writing modes do it as part of the dictation.

Does AI dictation send my voice to the cloud?

In most AI dictation apps, yes. In SpeechBee, transcription happens on your Mac, and with On this Mac the writing mode runs there too, using Apple Intelligence. Only if you choose your own AI service does text, not audio, go to that service, and only when you ask.

Can AI dictation write ChatGPT prompts?

Yes. SpeechBee's Prompt for AI mode turns a spoken request into a structured prompt, goal first, then context and constraints, and does not answer it. See talking to ChatGPT on a Mac.

What do I need for SpeechBee's writing modes?

An Apple silicon Mac with macOS 26 and Apple Intelligence turned on, in a language Apple Intelligence supports. Or your own AI provider on any supported Mac.

Keep reading

Sources