Speech to text in Google Docs on Mac

Yes, you can talk to Google Docs on a Mac, in whatever browser you like. Sayburst puts dictation on a key: click into your document, hold fn, say what you want to write, and let go. A second later the text is in the doc, punctuated, capitalized and free of the "ums" you didn't mean to keep.

Google's own Voice typing is a fine place to start. Sayburst is for when you write in Docs every day and want the result to read like you typed it.

#How to set it up

1. Download Sayburst and grant two permissions. Open the app and allow Microphone (so it can hear you) and Accessibility (so it can type into other apps). Sayburst then downloads its speech model once; after that, recognition happens on your Mac.
2. Open your document in any browser. Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge, Firefox: it doesn't matter, because Sayburst types like a keyboard would. Click where you want the text to go.
3. Hold fn, talk, let go. Watch the small overlay show your words as you speak. Release the key and the finished text drops in at your cursor. For a long stretch, tap fn once to go hands-free and tap again when you're done.

That's the whole setup. There's no add-on to install and nothing to connect to your Google account.

#What it sounds like, and what lands in the doc

A project update, said the way people actually talk:

"So the launch is, um, still on track for the fourteenth. The only open item is the pricing page, which, uh, Dana is finishing tomorrow. New paragraph. Risks. Bullet point legal review. Bullet point the, the App Store screenshots."

What Sayburst types into the doc:

So the launch is still on track for the 14th. The only open item is the pricing page, which Dana is finishing tomorrow.

Risks:

• Legal review
• The App Store screenshots

The fillers are gone, the repeated "the" is gone, and the spoken "new paragraph" and "bullet point" became structure.

Self-corrections get the same treatment. Say "the meeting is on Tuesday, actually no, Wednesday at ten" and Sayburst Writer, the optional AI model that runs on your Mac, writes "The meeting is on Wednesday at 10."

#Google Docs Voice typing vs Sayburst

Both put your voice into a document. They differ in where the speech goes and how much tidying you'll do after.

If you dictate a paragraph now and then, Google's tool is free and good enough. If your docs are where your real work happens, the cleanup alone saves a lot of fixing, and the same shortcut works in Gmail, Slack and everywhere else you write.

#Where your words go

It helps to separate the steps:

• Recognition (your voice becoming text) happens on your Mac. Sayburst never uploads your audio.
• Cleanup (punctuation, fillers, formatting) also runs on your Mac, including Sayburst Writer if you install it.
• Google Docs then stores the text the way it stores anything you type: in your Google account, under your sharing settings.

So Sayburst keeps your voice off the internet, but the document is still a Google document. If you'd rather not put something in Docs, that's a decision about Docs, not about dictation.

#Tips for writing in Docs by voice

• Pick the Notes mode for outlines. Spoken lists turn into bullets automatically. Keep Clean for prose. You can set a mode per app, so your browser can default to one and Mail to another.
• Teach it your names. Add colleagues, clients and product names to the vocabulary in Settings, and Sayburst spells them your way.
• Rewrite what's already there. Select a paragraph, hold the rewrite shortcut, and say "make this shorter" or "turn this into three bullets". The selection is replaced in place.
• Don't lose a thought. If you click out of the doc before you finish, Sayburst keeps the text. Press ⌃⌥⌘V to paste your last dictation wherever you are.

For more on Google's built-in option and what to do when it won't start, see voice typing in Google Docs on Mac. Comparing tools? Start with the best dictation apps for Mac.

#Limits worth knowing

Sayburst inserts text when you finish speaking rather than streaming it into the document word by word, and the overlay shows the words live while you talk. It needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 14 or later, and it doesn't run on Windows, iPad or Android. Google Docs voice commands like "select paragraph" are Google's feature; Sayburst writes text and leaves editing commands to your keyboard and the rewrite shortcut.

Questions people ask

Can I use speech to text in Google Docs on a Mac?

Yes. Google Docs has its own Voice typing under Tools, and Sayburst works in Docs too: click into the document, hold fn, speak, and let go. Sayburst works in any browser, including Safari, Chrome, Arc and Firefox.

Does Sayburst need the internet to type into Google Docs?

The speech recognition doesn't. Sayburst transcribes on your Mac, so it keeps working on a flaky connection. Google Docs itself still needs to sync the document, as it always does.

Does Sayburst add punctuation in Google Docs?

Yes. Sayburst punctuates and capitalizes as it transcribes and strips fillers like um and uh. You can also say new paragraph or bullet point to shape the text.

Is Sayburst an official Google Docs add-on?

No. Sayburst is a Mac app that types into whatever field your cursor is in. There's nothing to install in Google Docs and no Google account access.