How to dictate email on a Mac: Mail, Gmail and Outlook

You can dictate email in any Mac mail app, including Gmail in a browser, even though Gmail itself has no voice typing button. Click into the message, start your Mac's dictation (or hold fn with Sayburst), say the email, and stop. The text lands in the compose window like you typed it.

Email is where dictation pays off most: lots of words, a predictable shape, and a reader who can't tell you didn't type it.

#Voice typing in Gmail on a Mac: the quick way

Gmail on the web doesn't have a microphone button, and there's no Gmail setting to turn one on. You don't need one. Anything that types into a text field works in Gmail's compose window.

With Apple Dictation (free, built in):

1. Open System Settings → Keyboard, scroll to Dictation, and turn it on. Note the shortcut it shows (Apple's Dictation guide).
2. In Gmail, click Compose and click into the message body.
3. Press the Dictation shortcut (or the microphone key, if your keyboard has one) and speak. Say "comma", "period" or "new paragraph" where you need them.
4. Press the shortcut again or Esc to stop. Dictation also stops on its own after 30 seconds of silence.

With Sayburst: click into the message body, hold fn, say the email, let go. Punctuation, capitals and fillers are handled for you, and the email can be laid out for you too (more on that below).

Both work in Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge or Firefox. Neither needs a browser extension or access to your Google account.

"Voice in Gmail" vs Google Voice

If you searched for Google Voice in Gmail, you may have found something different. Google Voice is Google's phone number service: calls, texts and voicemail. It doesn't write emails for you. For speech to text in Gmail, use the methods above.

What about Google Docs voice typing?

Google's own voice typing works in Google Docs and in Slides speaker notes, in the latest Chrome, Edge and Safari (Google's help page). It doesn't work in Gmail. You can dictate a draft in a doc and paste it into an email, but that's two apps for one message.

On your phone

The Gmail app on iPhone or Android uses your phone's keyboard, and both keyboards have a microphone key. Tap it in the message body and talk. Sayburst is Mac-only, so this is the way to go on a phone.

#Mail and Outlook

Apple Mail and Outlook for Mac work exactly the same way: click into the message body and dictate. Apple Dictation types into both. So does Sayburst, and it can switch to its Email mode automatically when you're in Mail or Outlook.

#What Sayburst does with an email

Here's an email to a supplier, said the way people actually talk:

"Um, hi Rosa, thanks for sending the quote. New paragraph. We'd like to go ahead with the, the 200 units, but can you do delivery by the 12th, actually, make that the 10th. New paragraph. Thanks, Ben"

What Sayburst inserts in Email mode with Sayburst Writer, the optional AI model that runs on your Mac:

Hi Rosa,

Thanks for sending the quote.

We'd like to go ahead with the 200 units, but can you do delivery by the 10th?

Thanks, Ben

The "um" and repeated "the" are gone, "actually, make that the 10th" replaced the 12th, the greeting and sign-off have their own lines, and "new paragraph" became a paragraph break. No audio or text left your Mac to do it.

Without the writer installed, Sayburst still cleans up on your Mac: fillers out, punctuation and capitals in, "new paragraph" and "bullet point" turned into structure. The writer adds the layout and handles changed minds.

#Setting it up

1. Turn on the suggested app rules. In Settings → Writing → Modes for apps, click Use Suggested Rules. Mail and Outlook get Email mode; Slack, Messages and WhatsApp get Message mode.
2. Gmail in a browser? Choose Email for that dictation. Rules are per app, and your browser is one app. Pick Email from the menu bar before you dictate an email, and that choice applies to the next dictation. If you write mostly email in one browser, you can set that browser's rule to Email instead.
3. Install Sayburst Writer if you want greetings, paragraphs and sign-offs laid out for you. It's a 2.5 GB download that runs on your Mac's GPU, with no account or API key. It's best with 16 GB of memory, and slower on 8 GB.
4. Add the names you write to most in Settings → Dictionary, so "Siobhan" and "Nguyen" come out right. See custom vocabulary.

#Apple Dictation vs Sayburst for email

If you send a couple of short replies a day, Apple Dictation is free and good enough. If email is a big part of your day, the cleanup and layout save real fixing time. More options in our roundup of the best dictation apps for Mac.

#Dictating a good email

• Know your point before you start. Say the ask in the first sentence; the details can follow.
• Say "new paragraph" between ideas. It reads far better than one long block.
• End with your sign-off. "Thanks, Ben" becomes two lines in Email mode.
• Change your mind out loud. With Sayburst Writer, "Tuesday, actually no, Wednesday" comes out as Wednesday. No need to stop and start over.
• Read before you send. Dictation is fast; a five-second read catches the odd wrong word, especially in numbers and names.

#When it doesn't work

• Nothing types into Gmail. Click inside the message body first; the subject line or the page itself might have focus. If Sayburst kept the text because you switched windows, press ⌃⌥⌘V to paste your last dictation. See dictation text not appearing.
• Apple Dictation won't start. Check it's turned on in Keyboard settings and that the shortcut doesn't clash with another app. Mac dictation not working walks through it.
• The email comes out in the wrong language. Check the dictation language: wrong-language fixes.

#Where your email goes

Sayburst transcribes on your Mac and never uploads your audio. Cleanup and Sayburst Writer run on your Mac too. The email itself then goes wherever email goes: Gmail stores it in your Google account, Outlook in your Microsoft account. If you connect a cloud writing provider with your own API key instead of the on-device writer, Sayburst shows exactly what will be sent before you turn it on, and only text is sent, never audio.

Questions people ask

Does Gmail have voice typing?

Not on the web. Gmail in a browser has no microphone button. On a Mac, use Apple Dictation or a dictation app like Sayburst, which types into Gmail's compose window like a keyboard. On a phone, use the microphone on your keyboard.

Is Google Voice the same as voice typing in Gmail?

No. Google Voice is Google's phone number service for calls, texts and voicemail. It doesn't dictate emails. For speech to text in Gmail, use your Mac's dictation or a dictation app.

Can dictation format an email properly?

Apple Dictation types what you say, with spoken commands for punctuation and new paragraphs. Sayburst's Email mode with Sayburst Writer lays the email out for you: greeting, paragraphs and sign-off on their own lines, processed on your Mac.

Does voice typing work in Gmail in Safari or Chrome?

Yes. Both Apple Dictation and Sayburst work in Gmail in any browser, including Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge and Firefox, because they type into whatever field has focus.

Can I use Google Docs voice typing for Gmail?

Only indirectly. Google's voice typing works in Docs and Slides speaker notes, not Gmail, so you'd dictate in a doc and paste the text into your email.