Dictate in any app · Meetings

Voice typing in Zoom

Zoom transcribes meetings but leaves the chat box, which is where links and decisions get typed. Typally types what you say straight into Zoom — hold a key, talk, let go — so you can dictate anywhere Zoom lets you type.

Disclosure: Typally is our product. We have tried to describe what Zoom already does without talking you out of using it.
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In short

  • Zoom's own dictation: Live transcription and cloud recording transcripts, both about the spoken meeting.
  • What Typally does instead: types into the focused window, so it works in Zoom and everywhere else you write.
  • Best used for: in-meeting chat

Does Zoom have built-in dictation?

Live transcription and cloud recording transcripts, both about the spoken meeting. The in-meeting chat has no dictation.

Why dictate in Zoom at all?

During a call you are already talking, so typing in chat means doing two things at once badly. That is exactly when people give up and say 'I'll send it after', and then do not.

In practice people use it for: In-meeting chat, sharing context and links with a note, post-meeting summaries, and the follow-up message written while it is fresh.

How to dictate in Zoom

Nothing changes inside Zoom itself. Typally sits in the tray and types into the focused window:

1

Set Typally up once

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

2

Click into the right box in Zoom first

Click first. Typally types into Zoom wherever the caret already is, with no idea what that field is for.

3

Hold the hotkey and talk

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

4

Read it before you move on

You are on a live microphone. Push-to-talk dictation during a call will also be heard by the room unless you mute first.

What Typally adds in Zoom

Typally handles the ninety seconds after a call ends — the follow-up saying what was agreed, who owns what and the one open question. That is the only moment anyone remembers accurately. Mute yourself before using push-to-talk if you are still in the meeting, since the call has your microphone.

What this looks like in practice

A call ends at ten past and the next begins at quarter past. In those five minutes the organiser dictates what was agreed, who owns what and the one open question, and posts it to the channel — the follow-up that would otherwise have been written on Thursday, badly.

One habit that makes it work better

Dictate the follow-up in the ninety seconds after the call ends, before the next thing starts. That is the only moment you remember what was agreed.

What to watch out for in Zoom

You are on a live microphone. Push-to-talk dictation during a call will also be heard by the room unless you mute first.

Frequently asked questions

Does Zoom transcribe what I type in chat?

No. Zoom's transcription covers spoken meeting audio; the chat box is a separate text field with no dictation.

Can I dictate while I am in a Zoom call?

Only carefully — the call has your microphone open. Mute yourself first, or dictate after the call.

Is Zoom's transcript the same as meeting notes?

No. A transcript is everything said; notes are what was decided. They are different artifacts.

Try it in Zoom

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: Microsoft Teams · Slack · Confluence · see all apps