Talk to text on Android with punctuation that comes out right

1. 01 Open any app with a text field and tap into it so the keyboard appears.
2. 02 Tap the gear icon on the Gboard toolbar, or open Gboard settings from the Settings app.
3. 03 Tap Voice typing and switch Use voice typing on.
4. 04 Tap Languages and add every language you speak.
5. 05 If you see an option to download speech for offline use, download your main language. It makes recognition faster and keeps working with a weak signal.
6. 06 Allow microphone access when your phone asks.

1. 01 Tap into a text field in Messages, WhatsApp, Gmail or any other app.
2. 02 Tap the microphone icon on the keyboard toolbar or on the bottom row.
3. 03 Speak at a normal pace. Words appear as you talk.
4. 04 Tap the microphone again, or simply stop talking, to end.
5. 05 Read it over and tap Send.

On recent Pixel phones, an enhanced voice typing mode adds punctuation for you and lets you say "send" to send a message, "clear" to start over, or "stop" to finish. On other phones you speak punctuation yourself.

Say the punctuation as its own short phrase.

• "period" or "full stop"
• "comma"
• "question mark"
• "exclamation point" or "exclamation mark"
• "new line" and "new paragraph"

Pause for a moment before each command so it is not typed as a word. If a command comes out as text, tap the word, delete it and say it again more clearly.

• Hold the phone 10 to 15 centimeters from your mouth, not at arm's length.
• Speak a little slower than in conversation and finish each sentence.
• Wired or wireless earbuds with a microphone help in cafes, cars and on the street.
• Fix one word by tapping it. Gboard often shows alternatives above the keyboard.
• Use the backspace key to delete a whole word after voice typing instead of characters.
• Add names you type often to your personal dictionary in Gboard settings, under Dictionary.
• For long messages, dictate in two or three short rounds rather than one long one.

Gboard is quick and accurate for short messages. Longer text shows its limits.

• Fillers like "um", "so" and "like" stay in.
• If you correct yourself, both versions are typed.
• You get one plain style, whether you write to a friend or a client.
• Paragraphs and lists only appear when you dictate every break.
• Editing long text with your thumb is slow, which is exactly what you wanted to avoid.

For a text to a friend this is fine. For a work email from the train, you often end up editing for longer than you spoke.

VoiceTyping is an AI dictation service that runs in your browser and as an installed web app. On Android it works like this.

1. 01 Open voicetyping.ai/app in Chrome.
2. 02 Tap the menu and choose Add to Home screen or Install app. VoiceTyping now opens from its own icon.
3. 03 Pick a style: Email, Chat, Document or Notes.
4. 04 Tap the microphone and talk the way you normally talk.
5. 05 Read the cleaned text, then tap Copy or Share to send it into Gmail, Slack, WhatsApp or any other app.

VoiceTyping does not replace your keyboard and is not a native Android keyboard. You dictate in the installed web app and move the finished text into any app with one tap. For quick replies, keep using Gboard. For anything longer than a few lines, the cleanup saves you the thumb editing.

• Fillers, repetitions and false starts removed
• Only your final correction kept
• Punctuation, paragraphs and lists added without spoken commands
• A style per use, so a client email reads like an email
• Voice commands such as "make it shorter" or "more formal"
• A personal dictionary that follows you from your phone to your laptop

On your computer, the same account works in the browser and through the extension for Chrome and Edge. Read more on the voice to text Android page, or see how the talk to text app handles longer messages.

1. 01 Use Gboard for short replies to friends and family.
2. 02 Use the VoiceTyping web app for work emails, long messages and notes you will reuse.
3. 03 Pin the VoiceTyping icon next to your email app.
4. 04 Add your most common names and terms to the dictionary.
5. 05 Set a snippet for your signature so you never type it on a phone again.

Plans start at 7 USD per month billed yearly. See the details on the pricing page.

• Check that the app has microphone permission in Settings, Apps, Permissions.
• Make sure no other app, such as a call or a voice recorder, is using the microphone.
• Turn off battery saver for a moment. On some phones it limits background speech services.
• Update Gboard and the speech services app from the Play Store.
• Restart the phone if the microphone icon is grayed out after all of the above.

If voice typing still fails in one app only, try the same text in another app. A single app with a broken text field is more common than a broken keyboard.