How to Dictate in Word (Windows, Mac and Web, 2026)

Here's how to dictate in Word: open a document, go to Home > Dictate, wait for the microphone icon to switch on, and start talking. The shortcut is Alt + ` (the backtick key, top left under Esc) on Windows and Option + F1 on a Mac, and it only works if you're signed in to Word with Microsoft 365 or using the free Word for the web.

The rest of this page covers the bits that trip people up: the right setup on each platform, the three settings to check before your first sentence, the commands worth learning, and what to do when the Dictate button is greyed out. If you want the wider picture (Transcribe, accuracy, longer workflows), our complete guide to voice typing in Microsoft Word covers it.

What you need before you start

Dictate is a Microsoft 365 feature. Microsoft's Dictate support page lists three requirements: you're signed in to Microsoft 365, your device has a microphone, and you have a reliable internet connection. Your speech goes to Microsoft to be turned into text, so there's no offline mode: on a train with patchy signal, it simply stops.

Which version of Word you have decides whether the button exists at all:

That last row catches a lot of people. A Microsoft community answer from April 2026 puts it plainly: Dictate is in the subscription versions and the free online version, and not in the one-time payment licences. If you bought Office outright, skip to the section on other ways to dictate.

One quick check saves a lot of guessing: run your microphone through our free mic test before you blame Word.

How to dictate in Word on Windows

1. Open Word and sign in with the account that has your Microsoft 365 subscription (File > Account shows which one you're using).
2. Open a new or existing document and click where you want the text to go.
3. On the Home tab, click Dictate. You can also press Alt + `.
4. The first time, Windows may ask whether Word can use your microphone. Allow it.
5. Wait for the Dictate icon to switch on, then speak normally. Text appears as you go.
6. Say "pause dictation" to pause, or press Alt + ` again. Say "exit dictation" to close it.

While Dictate is running, a small floating dictation menu sits over your document with a Mic icon (pause and resume) and a gear icon (settings). You can drag it out of the way.

Don't confuse this with Windows key + H. That's Windows voice typing, a separate system feature that works in any text box but doesn't understand Word's formatting commands. More on it below.

How to dictate in Word on a Mac

Dictate word on Mac works the same way, with one Mac-specific hurdle: permissions.

1. Open Word for Mac and make sure you're signed in with your Microsoft 365 account.
2. Open a document and put your cursor where you want the text.
3. Click Home > Dictate, or press Option + F1.
4. If macOS asks whether Word can use the microphone, click Allow.
5. Talk. Say "pause dictation" to pause, click the Mic icon in the floating dictation menu to resume, and say "exit dictation" when you're done.

If you clicked Don't Allow on that prompt (it happens, it's usually the moment you were in a hurry), Word won't hear anything. Fix it in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and switch Microsoft Word on. Quit and reopen Word afterwards.

Also worth knowing: on many Mac keyboards, F1 is the screen-brightness key. If Option + F1 dims your display instead of starting Dictate, press fn + Option + F1, or just click the button.

Word's Dictate and Apple's own Dictation are two different things. Apple's version works in any app and is covered in our guide to speech to text on Mac. Inside Word, use Word's: it knows commands like "bold that" and "start numbered list", which Apple's doesn't.

How to dictate in Word for the web (the free way)

If you don't pay for Microsoft 365, this is the route. Word for the web is free with a Microsoft account, and it has the same Dictate button and voice commands (Microsoft's Mike Tholfsen walks through them in the web version if you'd rather watch).

1. Go to office.com in your browser and sign in with a Microsoft account.
2. Create a blank document or open one from OneDrive.
3. Click Home > Dictate.
4. When the browser asks to use your microphone, click Allow.
5. Speak. Click the Mic icon to pause, or say "pause dictation".

If the browser never asks, or you blocked it by accident, click the padlock or site-settings icon in the address bar and set Microphone to Allow, then reload the page. Microsoft's troubleshooting notes also point out that if another app or tab is already using the mic, Word will say it doesn't have access, so close video calls first.

Check these three settings before your first sentence

Click the gear icon in the dictation menu. Microsoft lists four options there, and three of them decide whether your first go feels useful or rubbish.

Auto Punctuation. When it's on, Word adds full stops, commas and question marks from your pauses. When it's off, you get one long run-on block unless you say every comma out loud. It isn't always on by default, so check it before you start. Leave it off only if you prefer to speak your punctuation; some people do for formal writing.

Microphone. If Dictate is listening but nothing appears, the wrong input is usually selected. Laptops plugged into a monitor or dock often default to a microphone you aren't speaking into. Pick the one you're actually using.

Spoken Language. Dictate uses your document's language by default. If you're writing in Spanish in a document set to English (UK), it will make a mess of it. Microsoft gives full support to Chinese (China), English (Australia, Canada, India, UK and US), French (Canada and France), German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish (Spain and Mexico). Thirty-odd more languages are in preview, which Microsoft says means lower accuracy and limited punctuation.

The fourth option, Filter sensitive phrases, masks potentially sensitive words with asterisks. If you see *** in your text, that's why.

Dictation commands worth learning

These are the commands that save the most trips back to the keyboard. Say each as its own phrase, with a tiny pause either side.

A couple of these behave in ways people don't expect. "Delete" removes only the last word or piece of punctuation before the cursor; "delete that" removes everything from your last utterance, which might be a whole sentence. And when Word thinks it misheard a word, it underlines it. If the word is actually right, select Ignore.

"Show help" is the one to remember. It brings up the command list inside Word, so you don't need to keep this page open. For more commands (symbols, currency, maths, the odd smiley face), see Microsoft's full list on the Dictate support page.

Dictate greyed out or missing: the fixes, in order

Work down this list. The first three are the quickest to rule out.

1. The document is read-only. This is the cause Microsoft gives for a greyed-out button. Look for a yellow Protected View bar and click Enable Editing, or check whether the file is open somewhere else. A quick test: open a new blank document. If Dictate works there, the file was the problem.

2. You're signed in with the wrong account. Plenty of people have a personal Microsoft account and a work one. Go to File > Account (Windows) or check the account in the top right of Word for Mac, and make sure it's the one with the Microsoft 365 subscription.

3. Your version of Word doesn't include it. One-time purchase Office doesn't have Dictate. Microsoft also says Windows 10 or later is required. Under File > Account on Windows, the product name tells you whether you're on Microsoft 365.

4. Microphone access is blocked. On Windows 11, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone and make sure "Let desktop apps access your microphone" is on. On a Mac, it's System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone, with Microsoft Word switched on. In a browser, use the address bar's site settings.

5. Connected experiences are switched off. Dictate relies on Microsoft's online services, and the Dictate help page links to its connected experiences settings. On Windows, go to File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings. On a Mac, it's Word > Preferences > Privacy. If experiences that analyse your content are switched off, turn them back on. On a work computer, your IT team may have turned these off on purpose, in which case it's their call.

6. Word is out of date. Update Office (Help > Check for Updates on a Mac, File > Account > Update Options on Windows) and restart Word.

If Dictate turns on but you get a "Dictation can't hear you" message, it's a sound problem: check the mic isn't muted, the input level isn't on the floor, and you're somewhere quieter. Our speech to text troubleshooting guide goes through mic problems in more detail.

No Microsoft 365? Other ways to dictate into Word

No subscription? You can still talk into Word. You lose Word's own commands, but plain dictation works fine.

On Windows: press Windows key + H. This is Windows voice typing. It types into whatever text box has your cursor, Word included, and it's free. Microsoft says it uses online speech recognition, so you need an internet connection, and you stop it by saying "stop listening". It has its own auto-punctuation setting under the gear icon. If you dictate a lot on Windows, our roundup of the best dictation software for Windows compares the options.

On a Mac: Apple Dictation. Turn it on in System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation, then press the Microphone key (if your keyboard has one) or your chosen shortcut, or use Edit > Start Dictation in Word's menu bar.

On either: a dictation app. This is ours, so weigh that accordingly. Blazing Transcribe is a free dictation app that types into any app, Word included: hold fn on a Mac, talk, let go, and the text lands where your cursor is. Speech recognition runs on your computer, so your voice never leaves it and it works offline. The limits: on a Mac it needs Apple Silicon and macOS 15 or later. The Windows version (hold Ctrl + Win) is new and isn't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen shows a warning when you install it. It also won't do Word's formatting commands. It suits people who want one push-to-talk key in Word, Outlook, Slack and the browser without paying for Microsoft 365.

Frequently asked questions

How do I dictate in Word?

Open any document, go to Home > Dictate and start talking. On Windows you can press Alt + `, and on a Mac Option + F1. You need Microsoft 365 on the desktop apps, or a free Microsoft account in Word for the web.

Why is Dictate greyed out in Word?

Dictate is usually greyed out in Word because the document is read-only or in Protected View. Click Enable Editing, or try a new blank document. If it's still grey, check you're signed in with the account that holds your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Is dictation in Word free?

In Word for the web, yes: sign in with a free Microsoft account and the Dictate button is there. In the Windows and Mac desktop apps, it needs a Microsoft 365 subscription. One-time purchase Office doesn't include it.

What is the shortcut for Dictate in Word?

The Dictate shortcut is Alt + ` (backtick) on Windows and Option + F1 on a Mac. On Windows it toggles Dictate on and off. Use fn + Option + F1 if your Mac's F keys control brightness. Windows key + H is a different feature: Windows voice typing.

Does Word dictation work offline?

No. Microsoft says Dictate needs an internet connection because your speech is sent to its servers to be turned into text. If you need offline dictation, use a tool that runs speech recognition on your own computer.