How to dictate on a Mac (built-in, and better)
Your Mac can already hear you. The question is whether what comes out is sendable. Here is the built-in way, its limits, and the upgrade.
- Built-in dictation setup in 30 seconds
- Why raw dictation reads like a run-on
- One hotkey for finished, formatted text
ugh tell maya i can't make saturday dinner work blew up and i feel terrible but can we do next week instead
Hey Maya, I can't make Saturday dinner, work blew up. Really sorry. Can we do next week instead?
Tap a style. Same thought, a different landing.
Turn on Apple's built-in dictation
Open System Settings, go to Keyboard, and turn on Dictation. Pick your language and the shortcut you want; by default you press the microphone key (or the Fn key twice) and start talking in any text field. On Apple silicon Macs it runs on-device, so it is fast and private.
That is genuinely all you need for quick snippets: a search box, a short reply, a filename.
Where built-in dictation falls short
Apple types what it hears. Punctuation only appears if you speak it ("comma", "period"), paragraphs do not happen on their own, and there is no sense of tone. A two-minute ramble becomes a wall of words you then edit by hand, which erases the time you saved by talking.
It also does not follow you: your dictation habits on the Mac do nothing for you on your Windows PC or Android phone.
The upgrade: dictation that writes
Speechy lives in your menu bar with two global hotkeys. Press ⌃⌥D, talk, press again: your words come back cleaned up (Dictation mode). Press ⌃⌥C instead and the same ramble comes back framed as the finished message, email or note you were trying to write (Clarity mode), pasted where your cursor is.
It is free to start, with no account and no API key, and the identical engine runs on Windows, iPhone and Android.
More than transcription, it frames the message.
Speak or type the messy version, and Speechy hands back the sendable one: the right tone, structure and context, in whatever app you're already in.
The message, not the transcript
Most voice apps stop at words on a page. Speechy gives you the message: the right tone, length and language, ready to send.
24 styles, one tap
Flirty, Firm, Diplomatic, Professional, Gen Z and 19 more. Keep your 5 on the keyboard and switch mid-conversation.
A real keyboard on iPhone and iPad
Every layout you use, with autocorrect and suggestions, plus the mic. On Mac, one shortcut in any app. Windows and Android are on the way.
Think in one language, send in another
Speak the way you think and send it in your keyboard's language, or any of 12.
Good questions, straight answers.
Does macOS have built-in dictation?
Yes. System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation. It is decent for short snippets but it types what it hears: you speak the punctuation and fix the structure yourself.
How do I dictate punctuation on a Mac?
With built-in dictation you say it: "comma", "period", "new paragraph". With Speechy you just talk; the AI places punctuation, paragraphs and tone for you.
Stop rewriting your thoughts.
Say the messy version. Send the clean one. Your first 10 messages are free, no account, no card.