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, we've 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 transcription services-using humans 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 do not 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 a free app for Windows usersĭragon by Nuance for a customizable dictation app The best dictation softwareĪpple Dictation for a free app for Apple devices And, of course, I'll provide a detailed review of our top picks for the best dictation software. In this article, I'll walk you through the different types of speech-to-text software, why you should give them a try, and provide tips on getting the best results. Plus, you'll have multiple languages to choose from and voice commands to further improve productivity. You can now dictate as fast as you want and be assured that at least 90% of what you say will be accurately transcribed.

Today's dictation technology is light years ahead. Back then, it was clunky, slow-going, and frustrating for those of us early adopters. Dictation software has come a long way since it was first released commercially in the early 1990s.

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