Dictate / Guides / Dictation in Word
Can Word take dictation? Yes, with two conditions
Word has a built-in Dictate button. It needs a Microsoft 365 subscription and an internet connection, because your speech is transcribed by Microsoft. Here is how to use it, and what to do when you can't or would rather not.
How to dictate in Word
- Sign in to Word with a Microsoft 365 account, and make sure you're online.
- Put the cursor where the text should go.
- On the Home tab, select Dictate. The first time, allow Word to use the microphone.
- Speak. Say punctuation out loud: “comma”, “period”, “new line”, “new paragraph”.
- Select Dictate again to stop.
The steps are the same in Word for Windows and Word for Mac. In the Dictate settings you can choose the spoken language and turn automatic punctuation on or off.
What Word's Dictate needs
- A Microsoft 365 subscription. Microsoft: “The dictation feature is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.” Office 2016 and 2019 bought outright don't have it.
- An internet connection. Speech is sent to Microsoft; Microsoft says it stores neither audio nor text. Offline, the button doesn't work.
- Word itself. Dictate lives inside Word (and the other Microsoft 365 apps). Outlook has its own Dictate button (see how to dictate emails in Outlook); a browser or a chat app needs its own dictation, or none.
Dictating into Word offline
Any dictation tool that types at the cursor works in Word, because to Word it looks like typing. Two run on your computer:
- Apple Dictation (Mac): press the dictation shortcut, speak, and it types into Word. On Apple Silicon Macs it runs on-device for many languages. See how to dictate on a Mac.
- Dictate: hold a key, speak, release, and the text is pasted at Word's cursor, and in every other app too. Speech is transcribed on your computer by NVIDIA Parakeet, in 21 European languages, with no subscription and no connection. On Windows, it's “Offline Dictation” in the Microsoft Store.
Dictating into Word on Windows without Microsoft 365
Word's Dictate button is the Microsoft 365 route; Windows itself has two more, and both type into any version of Word, including Office 2016 and 2019:
- Voice typing: click in the document and press Win + H. It is free on Windows 10 and 11, but it runs on Microsoft's Azure speech service, so it needs the internet like Word's button does.
- Voice access (Windows 11, version 22H2 and later): recognises speech on the PC and works offline, but it is built for controlling Windows by voice; see voice access vs voice typing.
- Dictate for Windows: hold Right Ctrl, speak, let go; offline on Windows 10 and 11. If Word is where you dictate long documents and you're weighing Dragon, see a Dragon alternative for Windows.
7 days free, then $49 once · Apple Silicon Mac · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Questions
Can Microsoft Word take dictation?
Yes. Word has a Dictate button on the Home tab that types what you say. Microsoft says it is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers and needs a reliable internet connection; it works in Word for Windows, for Mac, on the web and on mobile.
Does Word dictation work offline?
No. Word's Dictate sends your speech to Microsoft to be turned into text, so it needs an internet connection. To dictate into Word offline, use a dictation tool that runs on your computer: Apple Dictation on Apple Silicon Macs for supported languages, or an on-device app such as Dictate.
Is Word dictation free?
It comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription; Microsoft says it is not available in Office 2016 or 2019 for Windows without Microsoft 365. If you have Word without Microsoft 365, a dictation tool outside Word, such as Apple Dictation or Dictate, types into it just the same.
Does Microsoft keep my Word dictation?
Microsoft says your speech is “sent to Microsoft and used only to provide you with text results”, and that the service doesn't store your audio or the transcribed text. It still leaves your computer, which some workplaces, clinics and law firms don't allow.
Why is the Dictate button greyed out in Word?
Usually because Word can't reach Microsoft's service, you aren't signed in with a Microsoft 365 account, or your version of Office isn't a Microsoft 365 one. Check the connection and the account under File → Account first.