Enable Dictation on Mac

  1. 1

    System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation

    Click the Apple menu → System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS). Go to Keyboard. Click the Dictation tab. Toggle Dictation to On.

  2. 2

    Choose your shortcut

    The default shortcut to start dictation is pressing the Fn (Globe) key twice, or pressing the Microphone key if your keyboard has one. You can change this to a custom shortcut in the Dictation settings. Choose whatever feels natural.

  3. 3

    Choose your language

    Select the language and dialect you want to dictate in. Australian English is available and works well. Multiple languages can be added.

Using Dictation

  1. 4

    Click where you want to type, then press your shortcut

    Click inside any text field, document or app where you want to insert text. Press Fn twice (or your chosen shortcut). A microphone indicator appears. Start speaking.

  2. 5

    Speak naturally and use voice commands for punctuation

    Mac dictation adds punctuation automatically in many cases, but you can also say it explicitly: say "comma", "full stop" (or "period"), "question mark", "exclamation mark", "new line", "new paragraph", "open parenthesis", "close parenthesis". Say "all caps" before a word to capitalise it.

  3. 6

    Press Fn again or click Done to stop

    Press Fn (or your shortcut) again to stop dictation, or click the Done button on the microphone indicator.

Enhanced DictationIn System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation, enable Enhanced Dictation if available (older macOS). This downloads a language model to your Mac, allowing offline dictation that is faster and more accurate than standard dictation which requires an internet connection.

Dictation vs Voice Control

Dictation is for typing text by voice. Voice Control (System Settings → Accessibility → Voice Control) is a full hands-free computing mode that lets you navigate macOS, click buttons, and control apps entirely by voice. Voice Control is significantly more powerful but has a learning curve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Standard dictation sends audio to Apple's servers and requires an internet connection. Enhanced Dictation (available on some macOS versions) works offline by downloading a local language model. On newer Macs with Apple Silicon, on-device processing is used and internet is not required. Check System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation for your options.
Very accurate for clear speech in a quiet environment — comparable to other premium dictation tools. Accuracy improves when you speak at a normal pace rather than very slowly or very quickly. Technical terms, proper nouns and uncommon words may need correction. For long-form dictation, dedicated software like Dragon Professional offers higher accuracy with custom vocabularies.