If you spend a lot of time on your Windows PC, you know the joy of finding a feature that makes your everyday tasks easier. Many of us stick to the basics—copy, paste, maybe a handful of shortcuts—but Windows has plenty of tools that don’t get nearly enough attention.
One of my favorites is the typing tool built right into Windows (11 and 10). No matter how fast you type, sometimes your fingers can’t keep up with your brain, especially when the ideas won’t stop coming. That’s when you turn to this feature. It’s not flashy or complicated, but it saves me clicks, keystrokes, and frustration every single day.
Windows Voice Typing is fast, easy, and already built into Windows
I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty fast typist. My 55 words per minute puts me well above average (36 WPM, according to TypingTest.com). But even so, typing isn’t always the best way to get words on a page.
Sometimes I want to blast through email replies, jot down notes, or capture my great ideas before they slip away. That’s when I hit Win + H on my Windows PC, and up pops a little microphone. It represents Windows Voice Typing, a built-in dictation tool that turns your speech into text anywhere you’d normally type.
It used to be called Dictation in Windows 10 (and still is), but the idea hasn’t changed. As long as you’re connected to the internet, you can place your cursor in any text box, press Win + H, click the microphone icon, and start talking. The first time you use it, Windows will ask to install its speech recognition software. After that, you’re good to go.
To really make the most of the Voice Typing tool, I recommend a few quick tweaks:
- Voice typing launcher: I keep this on, so the microphone icon pops up automatically whenever I’m in a text field—one less step.
- Automatic punctuation: You can let Windows handle the commas and periods, though I prefer to do it myself.
- Filter profanity: Turn this on or off, depending on your needs.
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Screenshot by Ada
Voice Typing works pretty much everywhere—emails, documents, Slack messages, web forms, etc. I’ve dictated whole emails while making tea, answered messages mid-meeting (muted, of course), and filled out boring forms while pacing around.
It gets even better once you master a few commands. My favorite is Scratch That, which instantly deletes the last word I said. Microsoft’s support page has the full list, including punctuation and typing commands. The more you use it, the faster you become, until you’re capturing ideas almost as quickly as you can think of them.
Voice Typing has flaws, but none that really matter
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Is it perfect? Of course not. Windows Voice Typing can stumble on names, technical jargon, or with accents, and background noise doesn’t help. Auto-punctuation is still hit-or-miss; you may find yourself saying “period” or “question mark” more than once before it actually registers. Even my favorite command sometimes backfires, leaving the words “scratch that” sitting in my draft instead of deleting the last sentence.
Now and then, the Voice Typing tool duplicates the first word of a sentence or drops in awkward line breaks if I pause mid-thought. Say you’re hoping for completely hands-free dictation, like saying “delete last word” or continuing after pressing the Enter key. In that case, you’ll quickly notice that those commands don’t always land as expected. Right now, you still need a keyboard or mouse to launch or relaunch the microphone.
But none of these are dealbreakers. Accuracy in Windows 11 has improved a lot, especially with punctuation. Most errors are single words rather than full sentences, which means the cleanup is relatively quick. Over time, the system even adapts to your voice and rhythm, so recognition gets smoother the more you use it.
And even with a mediocre mic, Voice Typing still handles everyday notes, emails, and rough drafts with ease. You can use your phone as a Windows microphone if you need more clarity.
The tool isn’t meant to replace typing altogether, and that’s not a bad thing. Think of it more as a shortcut through the messy parts of writing: getting your ideas out, roughing out a draft, or spelling tricky words. Once you’ve got something on the page, editing is still faster with a keyboard. Compared to paid apps like SuperWhisper, Windows Voice Typing feels more barebones, but it’s still capable for a free, built-in tool.
Windows supports 45 languages (with multiple English dialects), and switching is as simple as installing a language pack and changing your system’s input language. That means you can dictate in your preferred language across almost any app, from Word and Outlook to web forms and chat boxes.
Quirks aside, Voice Typing has become something I rely on every single day. It gives my hands a break and makes it easier to capture thoughts in the moment. For me, that’s what makes it one of the most underrated features on Windows.
