Guides
How to dictate Gmail on a Mac (Google's doesn't do this)
Google Docs has voice typing. Gmail does not. The fix is a system-wide Mac dictation app, which types into the compose window in any browser with nothing installed.
Last updated
Why there is no Gmail voice typing
People reasonably assume that because Google Docs has voice typing, Gmail does too. It does not, and it never has on the desktop. Voice typing is a Docs Editors feature, and the Gmail compose window is a different product.
So the answer is a Mac-level dictation tool. The good news is that this works better than a Gmail feature would, because the same shortcut then works in Mail, Slack, your calendar and everything else.
The workflow
- Open the reply or press C to compose Gmail's keyboard shortcuts still work; dictation does not interfere with them.
- Click into the message body Not the To field. The cursor has to be where you want the words.
- Hold the shortcut and speak the reply Most replies are three sentences. One hold is usually the whole message.
- Release, read it back Ten seconds. Email goes to people who remember what you send.
- Send with Cmd+Enter By hand, after reading.
Smart Compose, spell check and the rest
Gmail cannot tell that the text was dictated, so everything behaves normally. Smart Compose still offers completions, spell check still underlines, and drafts still save. If Smart Compose suggestions get in the way while dictating, turn them off in Settings → General; that is a Gmail preference and nothing to do with the dictation app.
| Gmail feature | With dictation |
|---|---|
| Smart Compose | Works. Turn it off if the suggestions distract you |
| Spell check | Works, and catches things the read-back misses |
| Signatures | Unaffected — inserted by Gmail, not typed |
| Keyboard shortcuts | Work normally, as long as the cursor is not in a text field |
| Templates and canned responses | Work. Dictate around them |
| Search box | Dictation works in it, though typing is usually faster |
Getting names right
Email is the place custom vocabulary pays for itself fastest, because the people you email most are exactly the words a general speech model is least likely to spell correctly. Colleagues, clients, companies, products.
Fifteen entries, added over a week as you notice them, and the correction load drops to almost nothing. See building a dictation vocabulary.
Sign-offs and standard paragraphs
A signature handles your name and title. It does not handle the three paragraphs you send every week: the rates, the directions to the office, the explanation of your onboarding process.
A spoken trigger that expands into a block of text does. Say "the rates paragraph" and get the rates paragraph. See voice snippets.
The Gmail-specific warning
Gmail's undo-send window is also worth setting to its maximum in Settings → General. It is thirty seconds by default in most accounts and it has saved everyone at least once.
Questions
Does Gmail have voice typing?
No. Voice typing is a Google Docs feature. Gmail on the desktop has no built-in dictation, so you need macOS's own or a third-party system-wide app.
Can I dictate in Gmail on Safari and Firefox?
Yes, in any browser, because a system-wide app types into the page rather than running inside it. Google's own voice typing is restricted to Chrome, Edge and Safari — but that is Docs, not Gmail.
Will dictating interfere with Smart Compose?
No. Gmail treats dictated text as typed text, so Smart Compose behaves normally. If its suggestions distract you while speaking, turn them off in Gmail's settings.
Is my email uploaded when I dictate?
With an on-device app like VV, nothing is uploaded — the audio is recognised on your Mac and the text is typed into the compose box. VV has no access to your mailbox and cannot read, open or send anything.