Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Office with a microphone and reliable internet connection. It's a quick and easy way to add content into presentation placeholders and slide notes.
How to use Dictation
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Sign in to your Microsoft account using Edge, Firefox, or Chrome.
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Go to Home > Dictate (the button that looks like a microphone) while signed into your Microsoft account on a mic-enabled device.
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Wait for the button to turn on and start listening.
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Move your cursor to a placeholder or to the slide notes and start speaking to see text appear.
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Insert punctuation at any time by saying them explicitly.
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Fix mistakes with your keyboard without having to toggle the mic icon off.
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Tip: * To resume dictation, use the keyboard shortcut ALT + ' or press the Mic icon in the floating dictation menu.
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By default, Dictation is set to your document language in Office.
We are actively working to improve these languages and add more locales and languages.
Supported Languages
Chinese (China)
English (Australia)
English (Canada)
English (India)
English (United Kingdom)
English (United States)
French (Canada)
French (France)
German (Germany)
Hindi
Italian (Italy)
Japanese
Portuguese (Brazil)
Spanish (Spain)
Spanish (Mexico)
Preview languages *
Arabic (Bahrain)
Arabic (Egypt)
Arabic (Saudi Arabia)
Bulgarian
Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong)
Chinese (Taiwan)
Croatian (Croatia)
Czech
Danish
Dutch (Netherlands)
English (New Zealand)
Estonian
Finnish
Greek
Gujarati (India)
Hebrew
Hungarian
Irish
Korean
Latvian
Lithuanian
Maltese
Marathi (India)
Norwegian (Bokmål)
Polish
Portuguese (Portugal)
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Slovenian
Swedish (Sweden)
Tamil (India)
Telugu (India)
Thai
Turkish (Turkey)
Vietnamese
* Preview Languages may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.
This service does not store your audio data or transcribed text.
Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft and used only to provide you with text results.
For more information about experiences that analyze your content, see Connected Experiences in Office.
Can't find the dictate button
If you can't see the button to start dictation:
-
check if you are on the new Edge, Firefox, or Chrome.
-
make sure you're signed in with your Microsoft account.
-
on Windows: make sure you have Windows 10 or above.
Dictate button is grayed out
If you see the dictate button is grayed out:
-
make sure the document is not in a Read-Only state.
Microphone doesn't have access
If you see "Please check your audio settings" or "We don’t have access to your microphone":
-
make sure no other application or web page is using the microphone and try again.
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Check your browser's settings, search for "microphone", and see if you may have denied permissions in the past for PowerPoint, Office, or OneDrive by viewing it in your blocked list. Remove it from the Block list, refresh, click Dictate again, and enable permissions.
Microphone isn't working
If you see "There is a problem with your microphone" or "We can’t detect your microphone":
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make sure the microphone is plugged in.
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test the microphone to make sure it's working.
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on Windows 10: check the microphone settings in Control Panel.
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on Windows 10: also see How to set up and test microphones in Windows 10.
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on a Surface running Windows 10: Adjust microphone settings.
Dictation can't hear you
If you see "Dictation can't hear you" or if nothing appears on the screen as you dictate:
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make sure your microphone is not muted.
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adjust the input level of your microphone.
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move to a quieter location.
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if using a built-in mic, consider trying again with a headset or external mic.
Accuracy issues or missed words
If you see a lot of incorrect words being output or missed words:
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make sure you're on a fast and reliable internet connection.
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avoid or eliminate background noise that may interfere with your voice.
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try speaking more deliberately.
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check to see if the microphone you are using needs to be upgraded.
How to use Dictation
This feature is available only to Microsoft 365 Subscribers for Windows desktop clients. |
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Go to Home > Dictate while signed into Microsoft 365 on a mic-enabled device.
-
Wait for the button to turn on and start listening.
-
Move your cursor to a placeholder to the slide notes and start speaking to see text appear.
-
Insert punctuation at any time by saying them explicitly.
-
Fix mistakes with keyboard without having to toggle the mic icon off.
Tip: You can also move your cursor to a new comment to dictate feedback for others.
Punctuation
Punctuation
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Mathematics
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Currency
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Emoji/faces
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Output |
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Editing
Phrase(s) |
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While dictating
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Tip: * To resume dictation, use the keyboard shortcut ALT + ' or press the Mic icon in the floating dictation menu.
Punctuation
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Symbols
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Mathematics
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Currency
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Emoji/faces
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Punctuation
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Mathematics
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Currency
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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Emoji/faces
Phrase(s) |
Output |
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By default, Dictation is set to your document language in Office.
We are actively working to improve these languages and add more locales and languages.
Supported Languages
Chinese (China)
English (Australia)
English (Canada)
English (India)
English (United Kingdom)
English (United States)
French (Canada)
French (France)
German (Germany)
Hindi
Italian (Italy)
Japanese
Portuguese (Brazil)
Spanish (Spain)
Spanish (Mexico)
Preview languages *
Arabic (Bahrain)
Arabic (Egypt)
Arabic (Saudi Arabia)
Bulgarian
Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong)
Chinese (Taiwan)
Croatian (Croatia)
Czech
Danish
Dutch (Netherlands)
English (New Zealand)
Estonian
Finnish
Greek
Gujarati (India)
Hebrew
Hungarian
Irish
Korean
Latvian
Lithuanian
Maltese
Marathi (India)
Norwegian (Bokmål)
Polish
Portuguese (Portugal)
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Slovenian
Swedish (Sweden)
Tamil (India)
Telugu (India)
Thai
Turkish (Turkey)
Vietnamese
* Preview Languages may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.
This service does not store your audio data or transcribed text.
Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft and used only to provide you with text results.
For more information about experiences that analyze your content, see Connected Experiences in Office.
Can't find the dictate button
If you can't see the button to start dictation:
-
Dictate is not available in Office 2016 or 2019 without Microsoft 365 .
-
make sure you have Windows 10 or above.
Dictate button is grayed out
If you see the dictate button is grayed out:
-
Make sure the document is not in a Read-Only state.
Microphone doesn't have access
If you see "We don’t have access to your microphone":
-
make sure no other application or web page is using the microphone and try again.
Microphone isn't working
If you see "There is a problem with your microphone" or "We can’t detect your microphone":
-
make sure the microphone is plugged in.
-
test the microphone to make sure it's working.
-
check the microphone settings in Control Panel.
-
on a Surface running Windows 10: Adjust microphone settings
Dictation can't hear you
If you see "Dictation can't hear you" or if nothing appears on the screen as you dictate:
-
make sure your microphone is not muted.
-
adjust the input level of your microphone.
-
move to a quieter location.
-
if using a built-in mic, consider trying again with a headset or external mic.
Accuracy issues or missed words
If you see a lot of incorrect words being output or missed words:
-
make sure you're on a fast and reliable internet connection.
-
avoid or eliminate background noise that may interfere with your voice.
-
try speaking more deliberately.
-
check to see if the microphone you are using needs to be upgraded.