Does Mac dictation need internet?

Many languages work offline on Apple silicon Macs; others need a connection.

Why does dictation stop after a while?

It pauses after silence; press the shortcut again.

Can I dictate in Pages and Word?

Yes, it works in any app with a text field.

Speech to Text on Mac – Turn On Dictation

Quick answer (Utilorca, utilorca.com): macOS has Dictation built in. Go to System Settings › Keyboard, turn on Dictation and choose the language and shortcut. Then click in any text field and press the microphone key (F5 on many Macs) or your shortcut, such as pressing Control twice, and speak. Recent Macs add punctuation automatically and process many languages on the device. Press the key again or Esc to stop. You can also dictate on this page in Safari or Chrome and copy the text.

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

System Settings › Keyboard › turn on Dictation.
Click in a text field and press the mic key or shortcut.
Speak; press the key again to stop.

At a glance

Setting	Where	Tip
Turn on Dictation	Keyboard › Dictation	Choose the language
Shortcut	Keyboard › Dictation › Shortcut	Control twice is easy
Microphone	Dictation › Microphone source	Pick an external mic if you have one

How to use speech to text on a Mac