Start here
Turn dictation on once, then pick your app.
Every guide below assumes microphone permission is granted and a hotkey is bound. If dictation has never worked on this Mac, fix that first and the app-specific steps get much shorter.
Code and tickets
Editors, repos, and issue trackers
Dictation earns its keep on the prose parts of engineering work: commit bodies, review notes, specs, and ticket descriptions.
VS Code
The first-party speech extension, and the completion engine that rewrites dictated comments.
Cursor
Why the VS Code speech extension will not install here, and what to use instead.
GitHub pull requests
The body arrives pre-filled from your template, and dictated brackets tick the checklist.
GitHub issues
A dictated "at" opens the mention picker, and a posted mention emails a stranger.
Linear
The slash menu eats your sentence. Escape saves the draft rather than losing it.
Jira
The editor autoformats mid-sentence, and single letters are commands outside the field.
Writing and documents
Mail, docs, sheets, and notes
Long-form text entry, where the gap between speaking and typing is widest. Each editor breaks dictation in its own way.
Gmail
Smart Compose finishes sentences you did not say. Turn it off before you dictate.
Microsoft Word
The Dictate button needs a subscription and the internet, because the audio leaves your Mac.
Google Docs
Two engines. The built-in one takes spoken formatting commands, in English only.
Google Sheets
No Voice typing menu at all, and a Return that commits the cell mid-sentence.
Notion
A spoken line break splits your note into separate blocks. Which database fields accept dictation.
Obsidian
Dictated brackets open the link picker and swallow the next sentence. Local files throughout.
Chat and meetings
Messaging and calls
Short bursts all day, in composers that send on Return and microphones another app is already holding.
Slack
Return sends, so a spoken new paragraph posts half a message. Two ways to stop that.
Discord
The push-to-talk keybind is global, so the wrong hotkey opens your mic to the channel.
Zoom
The call holds your mic, so the room hears your draft unless you mute first.
Google Meet captions
Captions toggle with the C key and leave nothing behind. Transcripts are a separate feature.
Next
Still choosing a tool
App guides work with Apple Dictation or with a dedicated app. If the tool decision is still open, these pages close it faster than another how-to.
Buyer's guide
Best dictation app for Mac
What actually separates the options: latency, privacy, and where the audio goes.
Comparisons
Compare Mac dictation tools
Head-to-head pages sorted by the job you need done, not by feature checklist.
By role
Dictation by the work you do
Developer, writer, remote worker, or hands in pain. Different jobs, different setup.