Dictate in any app · Database

Voice typing in Airtable

Airtable's long-text fields are where the useful context goes, and where records stay empty. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere Airtable accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

We make Typally, so treat this as a vendor's guide. Where Airtable has a built-in option we say so, including when it is the better choice.
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In short

  • Airtable's own dictation: None. Every field type is a standard input.
  • What Typally does instead: covers Airtable and every other program on the machine with one hotkey.
  • Best used for: notes and description fields

Does Airtable have built-in dictation?

None. Every field type is a standard input.

Why dictate in Airtable at all?

A record is only as useful as its notes field. Structured columns get filled because they are quick — a dropdown, a date — and the notes column, which is the one that explains anything, gets skipped.

In practice people use it for: Notes and description fields, CRM records, content calendars, applicant tracking notes, and project detail.

How to dictate in Airtable

Typally runs in the background and types into whatever window has focus, so there is nothing to install inside Airtable:

1

Start with the install

Windows or macOS build, signed in once.

2

Focus the Airtable field you want the words in

Put the cursor in the field you are about to fill — Airtable decides where the text lands, not Typally.

3

Hold the hotkey and talk

Say the whole thought, then let go. No time limit.

4

Read it before you move on

Pressing Enter in a grid cell commits and moves down. Always expand the record for anything longer than a few words.

What Typally adds in Airtable

Expand a record, hold the key, and Typally fills the long-text field with clean sentences instead of the three words you would have typed into a grid cell. It works the same in every base and every view, so the notes column that decides whether a record is useful finally gets filled in while the detail is still fresh.

What this looks like in practice

A recruiter interviewing eight candidates in a day dictates forty seconds of impressions into each record straight after the call. By Friday the shortlist writes itself, instead of depending on remembering which of the eight was which.

One habit that makes it work better

Expand the record before dictating rather than typing into the grid cell. The expanded view gives you a real text area instead of a cramped cell.

What to watch out for in Airtable

Pressing Enter in a grid cell commits and moves down. Always expand the record for anything longer than a few words.

Frequently asked questions

Can I dictate into an Airtable long text field?

Yes. Expand the record first so the field is a proper text area.

Does Airtable have any speech features?

No. All field types are typed inputs.

Will dictation work in Airtable's mobile app?

The phone keyboard's microphone covers mobile. Desktop is where a separate tool matters.

Try it in Airtable

Start on the free plan (100 minutes a month, no card). Pro lifts the cap and adds meeting notes for $7.99/month.

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Also dictate in: Notion · Google Sheets · HubSpot · see all apps