Microsoft Dictate

What Is Microsoft Dictate?

Microsoft Dictate encompasses two related but distinct features for voice typing on Windows. The first is Windows Voice Typing, activated by pressing Win+H anywhere in Windows 11, which provides system-wide dictation in any text field. The second is the Dictate button built into Microsoft 365 applications — Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote — which provides dictation specifically within those apps. Both features use Microsoft's Azure Speech Services for cloud-based speech recognition.

These features are completely free and require no installation, no account creation (beyond your existing Windows/Microsoft account), and no configuration. For the estimated 1.4 billion Windows users worldwide, this means dictation capability is already available on their computers — most just do not know it exists. Microsoft has not heavily promoted these features, and they remain underutilized compared to their potential.

Understanding Microsoft Dictate requires separating the two features because they offer different capabilities. Windows Voice Typing (Win+H) works everywhere on your PC but has limited voice commands. Microsoft 365 Dictate works only in Office apps but offers richer formatting commands and deeper integration with document editing. Together, they provide a reasonably complete free dictation experience for Windows users.

Windows Voice Typing (Win+H)

Windows Voice Typing is the system-wide dictation feature built into Windows 11. Press Win+H from any application — a browser, email client, messaging app, code editor, or any text field — and a small floating toolbar appears at the top of the screen. The toolbar shows a microphone icon and auto-punctuation toggle. Start speaking, and your words appear as text wherever your cursor is focused.

The Win+H feature supports auto-punctuation, which automatically adds periods, commas, and question marks based on speech patterns and pauses. This feature works reasonably well for natural speech but can be inconsistent — it sometimes adds punctuation where you did not intend it, or misses punctuation at the end of sentences. You can toggle auto-punctuation on or off from the toolbar.

Voice commands in Windows Voice Typing are limited compared to Dragon or even Google Docs Voice Typing. You can say "delete that" (removes last dictated phrase), "new line," "new paragraph," and basic punctuation commands ("period," "comma," "question mark"). Formatting commands like "bold that" or "italicize that" are not available in the system-wide feature — they only work in Microsoft 365 apps via the Dictate button.

Microsoft 365 Dictate Button

The Dictate button in Microsoft 365 apps provides a richer dictation experience than the system-wide Win+H feature. In Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote, you will find a microphone icon on the Home ribbon tab. Click it to begin dictating, and a panel appears showing the active microphone and a settings gear icon.

Within Microsoft 365 apps, the available voice commands expand significantly. Formatting commands include "bold," "italics," "underline," "strikethrough," and their inverses. Editing commands include "delete that," "delete last word," "undo," and "select last sentence." Navigation commands let you move the cursor: "go to end of paragraph," "go to beginning of line." These commands bring Microsoft 365 Dictate closer to Dragon's voice command capability, though the list is still much shorter.

The Microsoft 365 Dictate feature also supports dictation in Teams chat, which is useful for quickly composing longer messages without typing. In Outlook, you can dictate email responses directly, including switching between the subject line and body with voice commands. The integration with Microsoft's ecosystem is the strongest reason to use this feature over alternatives — if you live in Word and Outlook, dictation is always one click away.

Accuracy & Performance

In our standardized testing with 500 words of pre-written English text, Microsoft Dictate achieved 85-90% accuracy. This places it in the lower tier of dictation tools — below Wispr Flow (96-99%), Dragon (93-98%), and SuperWhisper (91-96%), but roughly on par with Apple Dictation (85-90%) and Google Docs Voice Typing (88-92%).

The accuracy is powered by Microsoft's Azure Speech Services, which is a capable speech recognition engine used in Cortana, Teams live captions, and Azure cloud APIs. However, the implementation in Windows Voice Typing appears to use a lighter-weight variant of the engine that prioritizes low latency over maximum accuracy. The result is fast, responsive dictation that makes more errors per paragraph than dedicated tools.

We tested across several conditions. In a quiet room with a USB headset microphone, accuracy reached the upper end at 90%. Using a laptop's built-in microphone in a room with moderate ambient noise, accuracy dropped to 83-85%. With accented English, accuracy fell further to 80-84%. There is no voice training or custom vocabulary to improve accuracy over time — what you get out of the box is what you continue to get.

Language Support

Microsoft Dictate supports over 40 languages including English (multiple regional variants), Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, and many others. Language selection is tied to your Windows language settings for Win+H, or to the document language in Microsoft 365 apps. Switching languages requires changing the system language setting, which is less convenient than tools that allow on-the-fly language switching.

Accuracy varies significantly by language. English, Spanish, and French receive the best recognition quality. Less common languages may have noticeably lower accuracy. Voice commands (beyond basic punctuation) are only available in English, which limits the utility for non-English speakers who want to use formatting commands while dictating.

Windows 11 vs Windows 10

The dictation experience differs substantially between Windows versions. Windows 11 includes the full Voice Typing experience with Win+H: floating toolbar, auto-punctuation toggle, emoji input via voice, and improved recognition accuracy. Windows 10 has a basic dictation feature (also Win+H) but without the toolbar UI, auto-punctuation, or emoji support. The Microsoft 365 Dictate button works the same on both versions.

If you are on Windows 10, the dictation experience is noticeably inferior. We recommend upgrading to Windows 11 if dictation is an important part of your workflow. The accuracy improvement and auto-punctuation feature alone justify the upgrade for regular dictation users. Alternatively, third-party tools like Wispr Flow work equally well on Windows 10 and 11.

Comparison with Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Microsoft Dictate and Dragon NaturallySpeaking occupy opposite ends of the Windows dictation spectrum. Dragon costs $150-$300, requires 30+ minutes of setup and training, has a complex interface, and delivers 93-98% accuracy with hundreds of voice commands and macro support. Microsoft Dictate is free, requires zero setup, has a minimal interface, and delivers 85-90% accuracy with about 20 voice commands.

For professionals who dictate hours per day — physicians, lawyers, executives — Dragon's superior accuracy and voice command system justifies the investment. The 8-13% accuracy gap between Dragon and Microsoft Dictate translates to dramatically fewer corrections per page. For casual users who dictate occasionally for quick notes, emails, or messages, Microsoft Dictate's free, zero-setup approach is the pragmatic choice.

The irony is that Microsoft now owns Dragon through its acquisition of Nuance. It is unclear how Microsoft plans to integrate Dragon's technology into Windows and Microsoft 365 over the long term. The possibility exists that future Windows updates could incorporate Dragon-level accuracy into the built-in dictation, which would be transformative for the market.

Privacy & Data Handling

Microsoft Dictate processes audio in the cloud through Azure Speech Services. Your voice data is sent to Microsoft's servers, processed, and the text is returned. Microsoft's privacy policy states that voice data may be used to improve speech recognition services, though you can opt out of this in your Windows privacy settings (Settings > Privacy > Speech).

For users who need their voice data to remain on-device, Microsoft Dictate is not suitable. SuperWhisper (Mac) and the offline mode of certain Dragon editions (Windows) offer fully local processing. Apple Dictation on Apple Silicon devices also processes on-device for supported languages. If privacy is a priority, choose one of these offline alternatives.

Who Is Microsoft Dictate Best For?

Microsoft Dictate is best for Windows users who want to try voice typing with zero effort. There is nothing to install, nothing to configure, and no cost. Press Win+H and start talking. For casual dictation — quick emails, chat messages, short notes, and basic document drafting — it is perfectly adequate and genuinely convenient.

It is also well-suited for Microsoft 365 power users who spend their day in Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. The Dictate button integration means you never leave your familiar Office environment. For teams that standardize on Microsoft 365, this built-in dictation eliminates the need to evaluate, purchase, and deploy a separate tool.

Microsoft Dictate is not suitable for professional dictation requiring high accuracy (choose Dragon or Wispr Flow), medical or legal use (choose Dragon Medical or Dragon Legal), offline environments (choose SuperWhisper or Dragon), or Mac-only users (choose Apple Dictation, Wispr Flow, or SuperWhisper).

Alternatives to Consider

For Windows users who want better accuracy, Wispr Flow ($8.99/month) offers system-wide dictation with AI post-processing that boosts accuracy to 96-99%. Dragon NaturallySpeaking ($150-$300 one-time) provides the most accurate and feature-rich dictation on Windows. Both require investment but deliver meaningful accuracy improvements over the free Microsoft option.

For comparable free alternatives, Google Docs Voice Typing offers similar accuracy but is limited to Google Docs. Apple Dictation is the equivalent free option for Mac users, offering similar accuracy with on-device processing. OpenAI Whisper (free, open-source) provides higher accuracy for batch transcription but requires technical setup.

Long-Term Value & Verdict

Microsoft Dictate is the path of least resistance for voice typing on Windows. It costs nothing, requires no setup, and is already installed on your computer. For casual users and occasional dictation, it is all you need. The convenience of pressing Win+H in any application cannot be overstated — it removes every friction point that prevents people from trying voice typing.

The limitations are real: 85-90% accuracy means frequent corrections, the voice command set is limited, there is no custom vocabulary or voice training, and it requires an internet connection. These limitations matter progressively more as your dictation usage increases. If you find yourself dictating for more than 15-20 minutes per day and spending significant time fixing errors, that is the signal to upgrade to a dedicated tool.

Our recommendation: use Microsoft Dictate as your starting point. It is free and already available. If voice typing works for you and you want better accuracy, upgrade to Wispr Flow for the best modern experience or Dragon for the most powerful professional tool. The free built-in option is Microsoft Dictate's greatest strength — no other Windows dictation tool can match the zero-friction of Win+H.