Does Chrome have built-in voice typing?

Yes. Chrome’s talk to type, powered by Gemini, types what you say into a text box on any web page, on a Mac, Windows, Linux or ChromeOS computer. Click in the box, right-click it and choose Talk to Type, opt in the first time, speak, then select Done. You must be signed in to Chrome and outside an Incognito window. If the option is not in your menu, Mac Dictation or Windows key + H also types into Chrome.

What is the keyboard shortcut for voice typing in Chrome?

After you have started talk to type once from the right-click menu, press Option + Space on a Mac or Ctrl + Space on Windows and ChromeOS. Ctrl + Shift + S, or ⌘ + Shift + S on a Mac, is a different tool: it starts voice typing inside Google Docs only. Your computer’s dictation works in Chrome too, with the Dictation shortcut on a Mac or Windows key + H on Windows. On a Chromebook, Search + d starts ChromeOS Dictation once you turn it on under Settings → Accessibility.

Does Firefox have voice to text?

Not of its own on a computer. Mozilla documents voice input only for Firefox for Android, where the microphone runs a search from the address bar. Many voice-typing websites fail in Firefox too, because MDN lists the speech recognition they use as preview-only there. For free voice to text in Firefox, click a text box and use Mac Dictation or Windows key + H, which come with your computer, or a desktop dictation app. Firefox’s Read aloud, in Reader View, reads articles to you rather than typing.

Do Microsoft Edge and Safari have voice typing?

Not of their own. Microsoft lists no dictation among Edge’s accessibility features, and Edge’s Read aloud does the opposite job: it reads a page to you. Safari relies on Mac Dictation. So in Edge, click a text box and press Windows key + H on Windows or your Dictation shortcut on a Mac. In Safari, turn on Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard, then press its shortcut in the text box. Google Docs voice typing also works in the latest Edge and Safari.

Is it safe to use a voice typing extension?

Install only extensions you trust, and read the permissions first. Access to your data on all the websites you visit lets an extension read and change every page you open, your bank account included, and Google rates it as a medium alert. To add one, select Add to Chrome on its Chrome Web Store page, then select Add extension to approve the permissions it lists. Afterwards, the extension’s Details page lets you limit its site access to On select or On specific sites. Your computer’s dictation and VoiceSnap Pro type into the browser without any extension.

Does voice typing in a browser work offline?

Usually not. Windows voice typing needs an internet connection, and MDN notes that in Chrome, speech recognition on a web page normally goes to a server, so most voice-typing websites stop working offline. Google’s talk to type help does not say whether it works offline. Mac Dictation may work without a connection: the note under Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard tells you whether yours needs one. VoiceSnap Pro always needs a connection.

How do I use voice to text in Chrome or Firefox on a phone?

Use the microphone on your phone’s keyboard, because Google describes talk to type for computers. On Android, tap the page’s text box, then tap the microphone at the top of Gboard and talk. On an iPhone, check that Enable Dictation is on in Settings → General → Keyboard, then tap the microphone key. The microphone in Firefox for Android’s address bar only runs a search. VoiceSnap Pro’s steps on this page are for its Mac and Windows app.

Browser · Dictation workflow

Voice to text in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari Talk into any text box on the web, then read it before you submit.

Chrome can now type what you say: right-click a text box and choose Talk to Type, if your Chrome offers it. On a computer, Firefox, Edge and Safari rely on your system’s dictation instead: Mac Dictation, or Windows voice typing with Windows key + H. Both type into a text box in any browser, with no extension. Each browser’s steps and the fixes for a blocked microphone follow. VoiceSnap Pro works from outside the browser as a desktop app: hold one key, speak, let go, and punctuated text lands in the field you clicked.

Download free See the workflow

Mac and Windows · Internet required · Free allowance, no card

Set up on Mac or Windows.

Chrome · Support form, Details box

An example to try

A support request

You say

“since this morning no since yesterday afternoon the export button on the reports page just spins um i tried chrome and firefox and got the same result could you check whether it is our account or a wider problem”

After release and transcription

Since yesterday afternoon, the export button on the reports page just spins. I tried Chrome and Firefox and got the same result. Could you check whether it is our account or a wider problem?

Illustrative transcript. Recognition and punctuation can vary; review your own result.

Already on your computer

How to use voice typing in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari

Desktop browsers mostly leave dictation to your computer. Chrome is the exception: talk to type, powered by Gemini, types into a text box on any web page. In every browser, Chrome included, Mac Dictation and Windows voice typing type into the box that has the cursor, and on a Chromebook so does ChromeOS Dictation (Search + d, once it is on under Settings → Accessibility). Some sites add their own microphone button, such as Google Docs voice typing, and it types only on that site. Read-aloud tools do the opposite job: Chrome’s reading mode, Edge’s Read aloud and Firefox’s Read aloud in Reader View read the page to you.

Chrome: talk to type

On a Mac, Windows, Linux or ChromeOS computer, sign in to Chrome and open a normal window. Talk to type does not run in Incognito.
Click inside the text box on the page, then right-click it and choose Talk to Type. The first time, it has to start from this menu, and Chrome asks you to opt in.
Chrome needs microphone access. If it asks, select Open settings and turn on Microphone, then quit and reopen Chrome if your computer tells you to.
Speak while the action bar with the waveform shows. Chrome punctuates and tidies your words and adds them at the cursor.
To change text already in the box, highlight it, start talk to type again and say how to change it, such as “turn this into a bulleted list”.
Select Done in the action bar to finish, or press the shortcut again if you started with it. After the first use, Option + Space starts talk to type on a Mac, and Ctrl + Space on Windows and ChromeOS.

Mac: Dictation in any browser

Once: open Apple menu → System Settings → Keyboard. Turn on Dictation, click Enable and note the key the Shortcut menu shows.
In the browser, click inside the text box on the page, not the address bar.
Press your Dictation shortcut or the Microphone key. Edit → Start Dictation works too, where the browser’s Edit menu lists it.
Speak. In supported languages, commas, periods and question marks appear on their own. In a one-line field, don’t say “new line” or “new paragraph”: Apple treats them as Return, which can submit the form.
Press your shortcut or Escape to stop.

Windows: voice typing in any browser (Windows key + H)

Click inside the text box on the page. Voice typing needs the cursor in a text box, a working microphone and an internet connection.
Press Windows key + H, and wait for “Listening...” before you speak.
Turn on Automatic punctuation from the gear icon so you don’t have to say each comma. In a multi-line box, say “new line” for a break.
Say “press Tab” to jump to the next field of a form. Avoid “press Enter” in a one-line field, where it can submit the form.
Say “stop listening” or select the microphone button to finish. On Windows 10, Windows key + H opens the dictation toolbar instead, and you say “stop dictation” to end it.

Where the built-in option stops

Talk to type runs only in Chrome, in a signed-in window that is not Incognito, so check that your right-click menu offers it before you count on it.
Switching to another tab stops talk to type. What you said so far is written into the box you started in.
Avoid talk to type on a page with private details: Chrome collects what you say and details of the page.
Talk to type can rewrite and restyle your words, but Google says changing highlighted text is not yet available in Google Workspace apps such as Gmail and Docs.
Mac Dictation ends after 30 seconds of silence. Apple’s on-device note covers messages and notes but not search boxes, so words you dictate into a site’s search field may not stay on your Mac.
A site’s own microphone works only on that site. Google Docs voice typing, for one, lists the latest Chrome, Edge and Safari and leaves Firefox off.

The built-in option compared with VoiceSnap Pro in Chrome and Firefox
Feature	Chrome talk to type	VoiceSnap Pro
Browsers and computers	Chrome only, on a Mac, Windows, Linux or ChromeOS computer, signed in and outside Incognito. In Safari, Edge or Firefox you need Mac Dictation or Windows key + H.	Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox and other browsers, plus your desktop apps. Apple silicon Macs and Windows PCs only, so not Linux or ChromeOS.
Getting started	Comes with Chrome. Opt in the first time, which has to start from the right-click menu.	Install the desktop app and sign in with Google or an emailed code. No extension. A free allowance with no card, then a Pro subscription.
Starting and stopping	Right-click → Talk to Type the first time; after that, Option + Space on a Mac or Ctrl + Space on Windows and ChromeOS. Select Done to finish; switching tabs also stops it.	Hold Right Option on a Mac or Right Alt on Windows as you speak, then let go. You can pick another right-hand modifier key in Settings.
What happens to your words	Punctuates, cleans up and styles your speech, and follows simple spoken instructions on how to write it. Highlight text and say how to change it.	Punctuates for you. Clean up dictation, on by default in Settings → AI, deletes fillers, repeats and slips you correct out loud from dictations of up to about five minutes, and never adds or rewords a word. No styling and no spoken instructions.
Your names and terms	Google’s help page describes no way to add your own names or terms.	Add a client, product or tool name to personal vocabulary once, and it is used as a spelling hint in every browser, on every device you sign in on.
What it sends	Chrome collects the voice recording, the words typed and details of the page.	Your recording is sent to be transcribed, and with Clean up dictation on, the transcript is sent to be cleaned up. It does not read the page, the field or the window title, and the browser’s name stays on your computer.

From cursor to draft

How to dictate in Chrome and Firefox with VoiceSnap Pro

First install VoiceSnap Pro, sign in and complete the microphone and system-permission prompts. Then keep the app running while you write.

Read the getting-started guide

Click the box on the page
With VoiceSnap Pro running, click the field you want to fill: a form’s message box, a comment field or the editor in a web app. Make sure the cursor blinks there, not in the address bar. It works the same way in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox, with no extension to add.
Hold the key while you say it
Hold Right Option on a Mac or Right Alt on Windows, or the key you chose, and speak in full sentences. While it listens, the pill names your browser, such as “Listening… · Google Chrome”. Let go, and after “Transcribing…” the punctuated text lands in the field in one piece. Stay on the tab until it does: the text goes back to the browser you started in, into whichever field has the cursor there.
Read it before you click Submit
Press Return (Enter on Windows) for a new line in a multi-line box; VoiceSnap Pro adds no breaks and takes no spoken commands. In a one-line field or a chat box, Enter may submit or send, so skip it there; in many chat boxes, Shift + Enter adds a line without sending. Check names, numbers and dates against the page, then click Submit, Post or Save yourself.

Three useful ways to write in Chrome and Firefox

A support ticket or contact form

Type the order number and your email into their own fields. Then click the description box and say what happened, what you expected and what you have already tried, the way you would explain it on a call.

A long review or forum reply

Say what you used, for how long and what did or didn’t work. Hold the key for one point at a time and press Return between them. Check the site’s length limit and posting rules before you post.

Notes in a CRM, help desk or CMS

Right after a call, open the record, click the notes field and say who you spoke to, what they asked and the next step. In a CMS editor, dictate the body one paragraph at a time, then add headings and links with the editor’s own tools.

The human part

Make the draft yours.

Clean up dictation deleted the “um” and the “this morning” you took back, so make sure yesterday afternoon is when it started. Then type the account email, the report name and any ticket number yourself, and attach a screenshot if the form takes one.

Type passwords, card numbers and one-time codes by hand. On a Mac, VoiceSnap Pro will not start in a password field; on Windows it cannot tell one, so it would transcribe what you say, paste it and save it to your dictation history if you keep one.
Use autofill or the keyboard for short fields such as name, email and order number, and save your voice for the box that needs an explanation.
Copy a long answer before you click Submit. If the page times out and loses it, the History pop-up (Control + Option + H, or Ctrl + Alt + H on Windows) still has it, as long as you keep dictation history.
Add the client names, product names and acronyms you type into web apps to your personal vocabulary, so they come out spelled your way.

When dictation in Chrome and Firefox doesn’t work

Talk to Type is missing from Chrome’s right-click menu: Right-click inside the text box itself, not the page around it. Sign in to Chrome, leave Incognito and update Chrome from More → Help → About Google Chrome. Talk to type is for computers, and Google’s help lists no other requirement besides microphone access. If the option is still missing, use Mac Dictation or Windows key + H, which type into the same box.
Chrome says the microphone is blocked: Open More → Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Microphone. Check that the site is not blocked, and choose your microphone from the Down arrow menu. If Chrome asks for access in a dialog, select Open settings and turn on Microphone, then quit and reopen Chrome if your computer tells you to. That switch is under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone on a Mac, and under Start → Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone on Windows 11, where Let desktop apps access your microphone must be on. On a work or school computer, your administrator may set Chrome’s microphone settings for you.
Edge, Firefox or Safari won’t let a site use the microphone: Each website needs its own permission, even when the browser can use the microphone. In Edge, go to Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Site Permissions → All sites. In Firefox, open Settings → Permissions and data, scroll to Permissions and click Microphone, or click the permissions icon in the address bar to clear a blocked site. In Safari, choose Safari → Settings → Websites → Microphone and set the site to Ask or Allow. This setting is for a site’s own microphone button. VoiceSnap Pro is a desktop app with its own microphone permission, so it does not depend on it.
A voice typing website doesn’t work in Firefox: Many voice-typing websites rely on the browser’s speech recognition API, and MDN’s compatibility data lists it only as a preview in Firefox, so the site’s microphone button may do nothing there even when Firefox lets the site use your microphone. Open the site in Chrome or Edge, or skip the site: click the Firefox text box and use Mac Dictation or Windows key + H. VoiceSnap Pro works in Firefox the same way it does in Chrome.
Windows key + H or Mac Dictation does nothing in the browser: Click in the page’s text box first, not the address bar or the page around it. On Windows, voice typing needs a connection and its gear menu sets the default microphone; Microsoft also warns that turning off Let desktop apps access your microphone can stop Windows dictation. On a Mac, open System Settings → Keyboard, confirm Dictation is on and use the shortcut listed there. While Voice Control is on, you dictate with Voice Control and standard Dictation is unavailable.
VoiceSnap Pro’s text didn’t appear on the page: Click into the field so the cursor blinks there, then hold the key and check the pill: it should name your browser, for example “Listening… · Google Chrome”. Stay on the tab until the text lands, and check that you are online. On a Mac, open System Settings → Privacy & Security, check that VoiceSnap Pro has Microphone, Accessibility and Input Monitoring turned on, then restart VoiceSnap Pro, because macOS reads Accessibility and Input Monitoring only when an app starts. If the text went to another field, click the right one and press Control + Option + V (Ctrl + Alt + V on Windows) to paste your last dictation there. VoiceSnap Pro inserts text by pasting, so a field that blocks pasting, such as some confirm-email boxes, may refuse it; type there instead.

Choose what fits

Which voice typing fits your browser

In Chrome, try talk to type first if your right-click menu has it: it is built in, punctuates and formats your words, and can rewrite text you highlight. In Safari, Edge or Firefox, or when talk to type is missing, Mac Dictation and Windows key + H cover every text box. Use a site’s own microphone, such as Docs voice typing, when you write only on that site. Before you install an extension, check what site access it asks for.

Where VoiceSnap Pro fits

VoiceSnap Pro fits when you write in more than one browser, or move between the browser and desktop apps all day. The same held key works in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox, with no extension and no Chrome sign-in. It never rewords what you said, uses the names and terms you add to personal vocabulary as spelling hints, and does not read the page you are on. It runs only on Apple silicon Macs and Windows PCs, always needs a connection and does not follow spoken commands such as “new paragraph”. You start with a free allowance and no card, then move to a Pro subscription if you keep using it.

Official guidance checked October 19, 2026.

Questions about dictating in Chrome and Firefox

: Yes. Chrome’s talk to type, powered by Gemini, types what you say into a text box on any web page, on a Mac, Windows, Linux or ChromeOS computer. Click in the box, right-click it and choose Talk to Type, opt in the first time, speak, then select Done. You must be signed in to Chrome and outside an Incognito window. If the option is not in your menu, Mac Dictation or Windows key + H also types into Chrome.
: After you have started talk to type once from the right-click menu, press Option + Space on a Mac or Ctrl + Space on Windows and ChromeOS. Ctrl + Shift + S, or ⌘ + Shift + S on a Mac, is a different tool: it starts voice typing inside Google Docs only. Your computer’s dictation works in Chrome too, with the Dictation shortcut on a Mac or Windows key + H on Windows. On a Chromebook, Search + d starts ChromeOS Dictation once you turn it on under Settings → Accessibility.
: Not of its own on a computer. Mozilla documents voice input only for Firefox for Android, where the microphone runs a search from the address bar. Many voice-typing websites fail in Firefox too, because MDN lists the speech recognition they use as preview-only there. For free voice to text in Firefox, click a text box and use Mac Dictation or Windows key + H, which come with your computer, or a desktop dictation app. Firefox’s Read aloud, in Reader View, reads articles to you rather than typing.
: Not of their own. Microsoft lists no dictation among Edge’s accessibility features, and Edge’s Read aloud does the opposite job: it reads a page to you. Safari relies on Mac Dictation. So in Edge, click a text box and press Windows key + H on Windows or your Dictation shortcut on a Mac. In Safari, turn on Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard, then press its shortcut in the text box. Google Docs voice typing also works in the latest Edge and Safari.
: Install only extensions you trust, and read the permissions first. Access to your data on all the websites you visit lets an extension read and change every page you open, your bank account included, and Google rates it as a medium alert. To add one, select Add to Chrome on its Chrome Web Store page, then select Add extension to approve the permissions it lists. Afterwards, the extension’s Details page lets you limit its site access to On select or On specific sites. Your computer’s dictation and VoiceSnap Pro type into the browser without any extension.
: Usually not. Windows voice typing needs an internet connection, and MDN notes that in Chrome, speech recognition on a web page normally goes to a server, so most voice-typing websites stop working offline. Google’s talk to type help does not say whether it works offline. Mac Dictation may work without a connection: the note under Dictation in System Settings → Keyboard tells you whether yours needs one. VoiceSnap Pro always needs a connection.
: Use the microphone on your phone’s keyboard, because Google describes talk to type for computers. On Android, tap the page’s text box, then tap the microphone at the top of Gboard and talk. On an iPhone, check that Enable Dictation is on in Settings → General → Keyboard, then tap the microphone key. The microphone in Firefox for Android’s address bar only runs a search. VoiceSnap Pro’s steps on this page are for its Mac and Windows app.