And the casual user can dictate notes, a shopping list, a text, or a reminder while performing other tasks, making multi-tasking a reality.

Students can write papers and transcribe lectures into notes depending on the software's capabilities. And those with chronic conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome can prevent the repetitive stresses that come with typing, simply by using their voice.īut as the technology has improved over the last 20 years and costs have come down, dictation software is now accessible to everyone as a tool to increase productivity almost instantly. For example, if you're unable to use your hands, you can still operate a computer, create documents, and access the web with dictation technology. Why would you want to do that? For starters, dictation software provides accessibility to those with disabilities-both physical and language-based-to access technologies and be more productive. These are fine for scheduling meetings, playing music, and finding a place to eat, but they aren't designed to transcribe your articles, meetings, and other documents.įor this review, I'm focused on software, whether standalone or embedded in a device, meant for transcribing speech to text. Then there are those AI assistants built into many of the devices we use each day: Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, and Microsoft's Cortana. And you may run across companies that provide human transcription services-using real people to transcribe your voice files to text. Others market themselves as personal AI assistants (performing all computer tasks using speech) and may include a dictation component.

But sometimes lumped into a search for these terms are products that provide something else entirely.įor example, some products will transcribe audio files to text, but they don't transcribe your voice to text in real-time. The terms dictation software, speech-to-text, voice recognition, voice-to-text, and speech recognition can all mean a program that converts your voice to text on a screen in real-time. Google Docs voice typing for dictating in Google DocsĪs you search online for dictation software, keep in mind that it can include all different types of apps and services. Windows 10 Speech Recognition for free dictation software on Windowsĭragon by Nuance for a customizable dictation app The best dictation softwareĪpple Dictation for free dictation software on Apple devices And, of course, I'll share my selections for the best dictation software with detailed reviews for each app. Here, I'll walk you through the different types of speech-to-text software and provide tips for getting the most out of what you use. And with voice commands, you'll be more productive while doing it. You can speak at your natural cadence, which was unheard of back in the 1990s. While not perfect, it's accurate more than 90% of the time. Fortunately, we now get to experience dictation technology that actually pays off.

Mac medical dictation