SpeechBee

Guide

How to dictate on a Mac

Every Mac can turn your voice into text in any app. It takes about a minute to switch on. This guide covers the settings, the shortcut, the voice commands, privacy, and what to do when dictation stops working.

By the SpeechBee team. Checked against Apple's Mac User Guide on 12 October 2026

On this page
  1. How to turn on dictation on a Mac
  2. How to start and stop dictating
  3. How to change the dictation shortcut
  4. Voice commands for punctuation and formatting
  5. How to dictate in another language
  6. How to pick the right microphone
  7. Is Mac dictation private?
  8. How to turn off dictation
  9. When Mac dictation is not working
  10. Where built-in dictation falls short
  11. A faster way: dictate with SpeechBee
  12. Questions
  13. Keep reading
  14. Sources

How to turn on dictation on a Mac

  1. Click the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
  2. Click Keyboard in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
  3. Go to Dictation and turn it on, then click Enable.
  4. If your Mac asks whether to improve Siri and Dictation, choose Share Audio Recordings or Not Now. Not Now keeps Apple from storing your audio.

That is all the setup there is. The same steps work on a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac mini.

How to start and stop dictating

Click where you want the text to go. Then do one of these:

  • Press the Microphone key in the top row of the keyboard, if your Mac has one. Press and release it. Holding it down starts Siri instead.
  • Press your Dictation keyboard shortcut.
  • Choose Edit, then Start Dictation, from the menu bar.

When the cursor pulses or you hear the tone, start talking. On an Apple silicon Mac you can keep typing while dictation listens, and it picks up again when you stop typing.

To finish, press Escape, the Microphone key, or the shortcut again. There is no time limit on how long you talk, but dictation stops by itself after 30 seconds of silence.

How to change the dictation shortcut

  1. Open System Settings, then Keyboard.
  2. Under Dictation, click the Shortcut pop-up menu.
  3. Pick one of the options, or choose Customize and press your own keys, such as Option-Z.

If you choose "Press Fn key twice", your Mac changes the Fn key setting to match. That is expected.

Voice commands for punctuation and formatting

In supported languages, dictation adds commas, periods and question marks for you. You can also say them yourself.

SayYou get
"comma",
"period".
"question mark"?
"exclamation mark"!
"new line"A line break, like pressing Return once
"new paragraph"A blank line, like pressing Return twice
"heart emoji"The emoji you name

New lines and new paragraphs appear when you finish dictating. If a word comes out wrong, your Mac may underline it in blue. Click it to choose another option, or just retype it. Apple keeps a full list in Commands for dictating text.

To stop the automatic punctuation, go to System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, and turn off Auto-punctuation.

How to dictate in another language

Go to System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, and click Edit next to Languages. Pick each language and region you want. While you dictate, click the language label next to the cursor, or press the Globe key, to switch.

Not every language or region supports dictation, and some features vary. Apple lists them on its macOS feature availability page.

How to pick the right microphone

In Keyboard settings, under Dictation, the Microphone source menu shows which microphone your Mac is listening to. Choose your headset or external mic there. Automatic picks the one you are most likely to use, which is not always the one you meant.

Is Mac dictation private?

It depends on your settings and language. Below the Dictation switch in Keyboard settings, your Mac tells you whether general dictation, such as messages and notes, is processed on your Mac or sent to Siri's servers. Dictating into a search box can be handled differently.

Separately, Privacy & Security, then Analytics & Improvements, has an Improve Siri & Dictation switch. Turn it off if you do not want Apple to store your audio.

How to turn off dictation

Open System Settings, click Keyboard, go to Dictation, and switch it off. The Microphone key and shortcut then stop starting dictation.

When Mac dictation is not working

Work through these in order:

  1. Is Dictation switched on? Check System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation.
  2. Is Voice Control on? When Voice Control is on, standard dictation is not available. Turn Voice Control off in Accessibility settings, or dictate through Voice Control.
  3. Is it listening to the right microphone? Check Microphone source under Dictation.
  4. Is your language supported? Check Apple's feature availability page for your language and region.
  5. Did it stop on its own? Thirty seconds of silence ends dictation. Start it again.
  6. Is the field accepting text? Click into the field first so the cursor is blinking.

If none of that helps, Apple has a longer checklist in If Dictation on Mac doesn't work as expected.

Where built-in dictation falls short

Apple Dictation is free and good enough for a quick reply. If you dictate every day, a few things start to grate:

  • Dictation settings have no custom dictionary. If it writes "Kate Lynn" every time you say "Caitlin", you fix it by hand every time.
  • It has no filler-word removal, so your "um"s and "uh"s are yours to delete.
  • It has no snippets, so you cannot say "my address" and get the full thing.
  • It stops after 30 seconds of quiet, which is short when you pause to think.
  • Depending on your settings, your voice may go to Apple's servers.

A faster way: dictate with SpeechBee

We built SpeechBee for people who dictate every day on a Mac. You hold a key you pick, such as Right Command or F5, talk, and let go. The text lands at the cursor in any app, with the filler words already gone.

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.

Speech recognition runs on your Mac. The model downloads once, about 600 MB, and after that dictation works offline. Your audio is processed in memory and never uploaded or saved. You can teach it names it gets wrong, set up snippets, and dictate in 25 languages, or up to 99 with the optional Whisper model on Mac.

SpeechBee also reads text back. Select something and press your reading key, and a natural local voice reads it aloud, which is a good way to proofread what you just dictated.

SpeechBee Dictation settings on Mac: shortcut, trigger, speech model, and language
SpeechBee's Dictation settings on Mac. Pick the key, hold or toggle, the speech model, and the language.

To set it up:

  1. Download SpeechBee for Mac. It needs an Apple silicon Mac (M1 or newer) with macOS 14 or later.
  2. Grant three permissions when it asks. Microphone to hear you, Accessibility to type the text, and Input Monitoring so the key works in every app.
  3. Choose your dictation key, and whether you hold it or press it once to start and again to stop.
  4. Click into any text field, hold the key, and talk.

The first 7 days are free with every feature. After that it is $9 a month, $79 a year, or $99 once, and one plan covers your Mac, iPhone and iPad.

Dictate faster on your Mac, 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

What is the dictation shortcut on a Mac?

Press the Microphone key in the top row of your keyboard, if your Mac has one. You can also set or change the shortcut in System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation, Shortcut, or choose Edit, then Start Dictation, from the menu bar.

How do I turn on voice dictation on a MacBook Air?

Open System Settings, click Keyboard, go to Dictation, turn it on, and click Enable. Then press the Microphone key in any text field and start talking. The steps are the same on every Mac.

Does Mac dictation work offline?

Sometimes. Keyboard settings shows whether your dictation is processed on your Mac or sent to Siri's servers, and that depends on your language and Mac. SpeechBee always transcribes on your Mac and works offline once its speech model has downloaded.

Is there a time limit on Mac dictation?

No. You can dictate text of any length. Dictation does stop automatically after 30 seconds without speech.

Why does my Mac dictation keep stopping?

The most common reason is the 30-second silence limit. Others are Voice Control being on, the wrong microphone selected, or clicking away from the text field. Work through the checklist above.

Can I dictate into Word, Google Docs or Gmail on a Mac?

Yes. Mac dictation works anywhere you can type, including Word, Google Docs in a browser, Gmail, Slack and Notes. SpeechBee works in the same places.

How do I add punctuation when dictating on a Mac?

Say its name, such as "comma", "period", "question mark" or "exclamation mark". Say "new line" or "new paragraph" to break lines. In supported languages, your Mac also adds commas, periods and question marks automatically.

Keep reading

Sources

All checked on 12 October 2026.