Open Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation and turn Dictation on, then click Enable. Click where text should go, then press the Microphone key, use the Dictation shortcut, or choose Edit > Start Dictation, and speak. Press the shortcut again to stop. The setup path is the same on macOS 13 through 27.
Turn Dictation on
Apple documents the same System Settings path for macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia, 26 Tahoe and 27 Golden Gate. You only do this once.
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
- Click Keyboard in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down to find it.
- Go to Dictation, then turn it on.
- If a prompt appears, click Enable.
- If Apple asks whether to improve Siri and Dictation, click Share Audio Recordings to let Apple store audio, or click Not Now.
Start dictating
Click in the document or field where the text should go. Apple says Dictation works anywhere you can type text. Then start it in any of these ways.
- Press the Microphone key, if your Mac has one in the row of function keys. A press and release starts Dictation. Pressing and holding activates Siri instead, which must be enabled.
- Press the Dictation keyboard shortcut. The shortcut guide covers changing it.
- Choose Edit > Start Dictation in the app you are using.
Speak and add punctuation
Speak at your normal pace. In supported languages, Dictation inserts commas, periods and question marks for you. To turn that off, go to System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation and switch off Auto-punctuation.
To add a symbol or a break yourself, say it. Say "new line" for the same result as pressing Return once, or "new paragraph" for Return twice. Apple notes the break appears when you finish dictating. The full word list is in Mac dictation commands.
In some languages you can also say an emoji by name, such as "heart emoji" or "car emoji". On a Mac with Apple silicon you can keep using the keyboard while you speak. The cursor indicator pauses while you type and resumes afterward.
Stop dictating
The ways to stop differ by version, so check the one you run.
- macOS 27: press Escape, the Microphone key (if your Mac has one), or the Dictation keyboard shortcut.
- macOS 14 Sonoma: press the Dictation shortcut or Escape.
- macOS 13 Ventura: press the shortcut, press Return, or click Done in the feedback window.
Switch language
In macOS 27, add or remove languages in System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation. Click the Edit button next to Languages, then select a language and region. Deselect one to remove it. macOS 14 uses the same Edit button.
To switch while you dictate in macOS 27, click the language next to the cursor, or press the Globe key (if your Mac has one) and choose a language. On macOS 14 the language sits next to the microphone icon. On macOS 13 you pick a language and dialect in the Language pop-up menu, or click the language in the feedback window.
Apple says Dictation is not available in all languages or regions and that features vary. Its macOS Feature Availability page has the lists. Auto-punctuation is also not available in all languages.
Choose the microphone and speak for clean results
To pick the microphone for Dictation, open System Settings > Keyboard > Dictation and use the pop-up menu next to Microphone source. With Automatic, your Mac listens to the device you are most likely to use. To set the input for every app, go to Sound > Input, select a device and drag the volume slider.
A Mac without an internal microphone needs an external one connected and selected. Apple's pages do not say whether Bluetooth headsets or iPhone microphones are preferred under Automatic.
Apple's tips for accuracy are short. Speak clearly at a volume that is not too quiet or too loud. Keep clothing and your body clear of the microphone. Avoid background noise and echo, and try a headset microphone in a noisy room.
Length is not a problem: Apple says you can dictate text of any length without a timeout. Dictation does stop on its own when no speech is detected for 30 seconds. Whether it needs an internet connection depends on your macOS version, language and Mac, which the offline guide covers.
If you want more than the built-in tool
Pepys Dictate is a Mac app that types clean text at your cursor in any app. By default, speech recognition and formatting run on your Mac with no account, and it handles spoken corrections such as "Friday, no wait, Monday". It needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 13 or later, and has a free plan. See how it compares with Apple Dictation.
Last updated October 5, 2026.