Can Excel read cells aloud?

Yes, that is Speak Cells, the opposite of dictation; add it to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Why do numbers come out as words?

Say numbers clearly or edit them after; formatting depends on the language.

Does Dictate work in Outlook on Mac?

Yes, in recent Microsoft 365 versions.

Speech to Text in Excel and Outlook

Quick answer (Utilorca, utilorca.com): Outlook for Microsoft 365 has a Dictate button on the Message tab when you write an email: click it and speak. Excel has no Dictate button, but you can still dictate: select a cell, press F2 or double-click to edit it, then press Win + H on Windows, or use Dictation on a Mac, and speak. Dictating numbers works, but check the result, since "two" may come out as a word. For longer text, dictate here and paste it.

Do it now, right here

Language

Click Start, allow the microphone and speak. Say “comma”, “period” or “new line” for punctuation.

Spoken punctuation: comma, period, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, new line, new paragraph.

Speech recognition is done by your browser’s service (Google in Chrome and Edge, Apple in Safari). Utilorca does not receive or store your voice or text.

Step by step

Outlook: Message tab › Dictate.
Excel: edit a cell, then press Win + H.
On Mac: use system Dictation in either app.

At a glance

App	Built-in dictation?	Alternative
Outlook (Microsoft 365)	Yes, Dictate button	Win + H
Excel	No	Win + H or Mac Dictation
Outlook on the web	Yes, in many accounts	Browser dictation

Can I use speech to text in Excel and Outlook?