Voice typing in Google Docs on a Mac

Google Docs ships Voice typing under the Tools menu, and it does something macOS Dictation does not: it takes spoken editing and formatting commands. It also carries two restrictions that decide the choice for most people.

Option A: Google Docs Voice typing (Tools menu)

1. Open a document in a supported browser. Google documents Voice typing for Chrome, Edge, and Safari.
2. Go to Tools → Voice typing. A microphone panel appears at the left of the document.
3. Click the microphone, allow the browser microphone prompt, and speak.
4. Click the microphone again to stop.

The payoff is spoken editing: "select the last sentence", "bold that", "apply heading 2", "go to end of paragraph". No system dictation on macOS does that inside a document.

The two restrictions that matter

• Editing and formatting commands are English only. Google states this on the Voice typing help page. Dictating in any other language gives you transcription and nothing else, which removes the whole reason to prefer it over system dictation.
• It stops when the tab loses focus. Click into another window, another tab, or a comment thread and the microphone turns off. Dictating a document while reading a source in a second window means restarting Voice typing every time you switch back.

Option B: macOS Dictation (survives the window switch)

1. Turn Dictation on once: System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. Full steps in enable dictation on macOS.
2. Open the document and click where the text should go.
3. Start Dictation with your shortcut and speak. Say punctuation words for punctuation.
4. Stop Dictation to finalise.

System dictation has no spoken formatting commands and no browser requirement. It also works in the comment sidebar, in the document title field, and in the next application you switch to, which Voice typing does not.

Which one to pick

• Writing a long document in English, in one sitting, in one window: Voice typing. The editing commands are worth the restrictions.
• Writing in any other language: system dictation. The commands you would be paying for do not exist for you.
• Moving between the doc, a browser tab, and a chat window: system dictation, or a hotkey tool. Voice typing stops every time you leave.

If nothing types at all

• Voice typing needs the browser's own microphone permission, granted per site. Check the padlock icon in the address bar for docs.google.com as well as System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.
• If the microphone panel appears but the button does nothing, the browser is not one Google supports for the feature. Firefox is the common case.
• Dictation dead everywhere, not just Docs: dictation not working on Mac.

Option C: one hotkey, every window

Voice Type keeps the same hold-to-dictate hotkey in the document, in the comment thread, and in the email you write about the document afterwards, with the model running on your Mac: voice typing for Mac.

Keep going

• Dictation in Google Sheets (no Voice typing menu at all)
• Dictation in Microsoft Word (and where the audio goes)

Sources

• Google Docs Editors Help: Type and edit with your voice
• Apple: Dictate messages and documents on Mac
• Apple: If Dictation on Mac doesn't work as expected