Dictate in any app · Chat

Voice typing in Google Chat

Google Chat has no dictation, despite living beside Docs where Google does offer it. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere Google Chat accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

Written by the team behind Typally. Google Chat's own features are described as accurately as we can — check them yourself before switching anything.
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In short

  • Google Chat's own dictation: Nothing. Voice typing exists in Docs and Slides but was never extended to Chat.
  • What Typally does instead: behaves like a keyboard, so it reaches parts of Google Chat a built-in feature would not.
  • Best used for: space messages

Does Google Chat have built-in dictation?

Nothing. Voice typing exists in Docs and Slides but was never extended to Chat.

Why dictate in Google Chat at all?

Chat inherits Gmail's problem: high volume, short messages, and long explanations that get abandoned. It also sits in the same browser tab as work you are already doing, so switching to a phone to dictate is absurd.

In practice people use it for: Space messages, thread replies, DMs, and the status update that saves a meeting.

How to dictate in Google Chat

Because Typally types at the system level rather than plugging into Google Chat, setup is the same everywhere:

1

Set Typally up once

One install, one sign-in. Nothing else to configure.

2

Focus the Google Chat field you want the words in

Make sure Google Chat has the cursor in the intended field; that is the only thing that decides where words appear.

3

Press and speak

Hold, talk, release. Long passages are fine.

4

Read it before you move on

Enter sends. Use Shift+Enter for line breaks in anything longer than a sentence.

What Typally adds in Google Chat

Typally types into the Chat composer whether it is its own tab or embedded in Gmail, so the explanation that would otherwise become a meeting can be written in the time you have between meetings. Use a thread for anything long — Enter sends in the main composer.

What this looks like in practice

Someone asked in a space why a report shows different numbers than last week. The full answer involves a changed date filter and a re-run. Spoken, it takes thirty seconds and settles the question; typed, it would have been 'let's chat tomorrow'.

One habit that makes it work better

Write the longer message in a thread rather than the main space. It gives you room to say the whole thing without cluttering the channel.

What to watch out for in Google Chat

Enter sends. Use Shift+Enter for line breaks in anything longer than a sentence.

Frequently asked questions

Does Google Chat support voice typing?

No. Google's voice typing is limited to Docs and Slides speaker notes.

Can I dictate into Google Chat inside Gmail?

Yes. Whether Chat is its own tab or embedded in Gmail, a system-level tool types into the focused box.

Will dictation work in Google Spaces?

Yes — spaces, threads and DMs are all ordinary text inputs.

Try it in Google Chat

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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