What is voice typing?

You may also know it as a speech-to-text or dictation. Voice typing is a feature in a text editor that lets users input text by speaking instead of typing using automatic speech recognition. Real-time voice conversion into written text makes life easier for people who can't type traditionally, have busy hands, or find it quicker to talk.

People speak much faster than they type—specifically, research has shown that speech recognition on a smartphone is up to three times faster than typing in English. What's even better is that the number of errors is significantly lower.

Many modern SaaS editors have multi-language support, so your users can dictate in dozens of languages and dialects. For example, a voice-to-text plugin for CKEditor supports 32 languages (with 62 locale variants) as is.

Does your app need voice typing?

Voice typing (a.k.a. dictation) has many benefits. First, it will be beneficial for people who must think and write things down quickly. These can be busy professionals who draft emails and documentation, students who jot down lectures or compose essays, or any users who want to capture thoughts quickly. Second, the speech-to-text feature is irreplaceable for accessibility, as it lets users with motor disabilities or injuries write and contribute content regardless of their typing abilities.

However, one thing that has contributed most to the popularity of voice typing is mobile devices. Dictating notes, replies, and task updates quickly took over typing long paragraphs on excruciatingly small keyboards.

Voice typing will be a welcome addition for all apps where users can benefit from faster text input, multitasking, and accessibility accommodations.

Saved time

Voice typing is faster, period. (It took us 3 seconds to type it; it'd took 1 second to say.)

Product appeal

Nothing sells better than saved time. Ask McDonald's.

Convenience

Moms, admins, entrepreneurs, and other busy folks love the ability to push one button and dictate the message.

Higher user retention

Less frustrating moments mean users stick with your product for longer.

Inclusion

Now everyone is on board: from little kids who can’t write to seniors who struggle to type on smartphones.

Voice typing use cases: just say it as it is!

Voice typing is rarely the central feature; it is an add-on, a complementary good-to-have element, but the one that truly shines. Switching text and voice input gives an app a modern, up-to-date feel, which can become a competitive advantage. The uses that we are already used to include hands-free dictating notes, on-the-go messaging and replies in messengers, transcription of meetings, and voice commands.

Here are several applications and products that extensively use speech-to-text features and dictation in their user interfaces:

Google Docs

Category: Collaborative editor

Google Docs has voice typing right in its editor. Once activated, it transcribes the words the user dictates in real time into the document. It also supports some commands for hands-free voice editing—for example, the user can say commands like "period" or "select all" to add punctuation or operate text blocks. Google's voice typing works in over 100 languages. Besides, we love how unobtrusive it is. This optional tool is always ready to use by whoever wants to, but never in your way.

Microsoft Office

Category: Productivity software

The bundle of Microsoft Office tools includes a Dictate feature in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote. When turned on, it transcribes the user's speech to text in the document. Like Google, it supports some voice commands for editing and adds automatic punctuation. Word's Transcribe feature is a specialty. It generates text from an uploaded record or audio file—a handy feature for meeting notes and interviews.

Fireflies

Category: Meeting intelligence platform

Fireflies use speech-to-text technology to turn audio meeting recordings into searchable transcripts. It automatically transcribes the audio in real-time, with the added functionality of distinguishing between speakers. It also can distinguish voice commands addressed to the virtual assistant and follow them — for example, the user can say, "Turn this thought into an action item," and the platform will mark the chosen point as a part of the to-do list.

ChatGPT

Category: Advanced multimodal AI assistant

ChatGPT's real-time dictation feature took voice interaction to the next level. It elevates speech-to-text by adding punctuation in all the right places, structuring sentences, and dynamically following conversations. It understands context, differentiating between commands, questions, and narrative. Its ability to break down complex sentences into readable segments is a great help to those who speak in never-ending sentences (we all have a friend like that).

Voice typing instantly translates spoken words into text for faster note-taking, messaging, and document creation. Users love it for improved accessibility, while businesses get improved customer satisfaction and valuable data collection.

Myron Mavko

Co-Founder & CEO, Flexum

When do you not need the voice typing functionality?

Unfit environment

If your users work in a busy environment or a quiet, shared space, using dictation may feel uncomfortable.

Low need for text input

If the product's core use case doesn't involve much text input (e.g., graphic designer), voice typing would not be a priority.

Complex content

In scientific formulas or complex code cases, voicing those out is often more cumbersome than typing.

Privacy concerns

Voice features usually send audio to cloud services for transcription, so users handling sensitive medical or legal data may find it risky.

Voice typing shines when it comes to repetitive typing or rapid content generation. Decide if it is something for you based on the extent to which your workflow demands fast, hands-free textual input and content creation on the go.

Anton Chuiko

Co-Founder & COO, Flexum

Voice typing in Flexum projects

Today, voice typing is built on AI, specifically on its advanced speech recognition models. At Flexum, we use the common approach to adding voice typing into custom solutions—integrating it via tried-and-true APIs. Tiptap and CKEditor 5, which we use, allow us to plug such an API into a SaaS editor and get high-quality transcription in real time, support for many languages, and automatic punctuation.

We understand these AI integrations are key to delivering a modern, competitive feature to our SaaS clients.

Blooksy

Category: Publishing SaaS tool

Blooksy is an all-in-one place Saas tool for writing, editing, collaboration, and publishing your book.

Of course, writers are among the first users we think about when we think about voice typing. To support their habitual use case, we integrated dictation support, where users can dictate their notes in a separate field and then add the chosen parts to the final book draft.

Blooksy is a user-centric platform that empowers authors to write faster and keep everything in one place. Dictation simplifies the writing process and helps quickly capture ideas, dictate chapters and polish thoughts. More productive writing sessions result in faster book creation, and overall, the platform is easy to use.

Yevhenii Bilyk

Head of Engineering, Flexum

Ready to add a speech-to-text feature to your app?

Want to give users more freedom with hands-free dictation? Our team knows all about building voice typing functionality into text-based applications, from word processors to note-taking tools. Contact us, and let's discuss if voice typing is correct for your app and how to implement it.

Adding voice typing has a few things under the hood: voice recognition integration, conversion of speech to text, input within your UI, and customization options. We'll gladly take you through the process to a user-friendly voice typing experience.

Clients praise our ability to tailor features for various projects. Our team of experts has the experience and background to guide you through each project from A to Z.

Why Flexum?

Flexum has a niche expertise in all things text. We’re here to provide technical knowledge and roadmaps for apps that use customized text editors, such as CRM systems, e-commerce applications, and collaborative real-time editing apps. We create holistic experiences that make apps users' favorites, with all the features they want and none of the hassles they don’t want.

Fast results that users love

Interactive features that work as intended, smoothly and efficiently.

Hassle-free integration

We handle design, migrations, and deployment — no effort is needed from your team.

Business-focused development

We are honest and open about whether our clients need the required features and if they will help users reach their goals.

Voice typing