Dictation software for Microsoft Word that writes the way documents should read
Stenograph puts your spoken words straight into the Word document you have open, at the cursor, on Mac and on Windows. Press one hotkey, talk through the paragraph you have in your head, pause, and the text appears punctuated, split into paragraphs and shaped as a heading, a numbered list or a clean sentence, with the names and terms of your field spelled the way you spell them.
Listening
Voice typing in Word without copy and paste
Most people who try dictating a document end up with a separate window full of raw text that they then paste into Word and fix by hand. Stenograph skips that step. The desktop app listens only while you hold or tap the global hotkey, sends the audio for processing, and inserts the finished text exactly where the Word cursor blinks. You see three states on screen (listening, processing, inserted), so you always know whether your sentence has landed.
- One hotkey starts, a natural pause or a second tap ends the utterance
- The microphone is on only while you speak, never in the background
- Text goes into the open document at the cursor, inside tables and text boxes too
- Works the same in Word for Mac and Word for Windows
Dictate in Word on Mac and Windows with the same habits
Many writers move between a laptop at home and a desktop at the office. Stenograph keeps one dictionary, one set of writing styles and one hotkey on both systems, so the muscle memory you build on a Mac carries over to a Windows machine. If a draft starts in Word Online in the browser, the Chrome extension does the same job there.
Headings, lists and paragraphs that follow Word styles
A Word document is more than a stream of words. Reports need headings, policies need numbered clauses, meeting minutes need bullet points. When you say "new paragraph", Stenograph starts one. When you say "make that a list", the last few sentences become list items that Word recognizes as a real list, so your document numbering and indentation stay intact. Headings you dictate arrive as headings, which means the navigation pane and the table of contents pick them up without extra clicks.
- "new paragraph" breaks the text where you want it
- "make that a list" turns the last sentences into bullets or numbered items
- Spoken headings land in heading styles, ready for a table of contents
- Filler words and false starts are removed before the text is inserted
A structured writing style for Word documents
Stenograph uses a writing style per app. In Word the default is structured: complete sentences, consistent paragraph length, proper capitalization of headings, and lists where you enumerate. In Slack the same speech would come out shorter, and in Outlook it would read like a formal email. You can change the Word style to plainer or more formal in settings, and a team can share one house style. The details live on the page about dictation writing styles.
Edit a Word document by voice
Fixing a sentence should not send you back to the keyboard. Stenograph understands editing commands that act on what you just dictated, so you can correct course while the thought is still fresh.
- "delete the last sentence" removes it from the document
- "replace quarterly with annual" swaps a word or phrase
- "make it shorter" tightens the paragraph you just said
- "more formal" lifts the tone for a client facing report
The full list and how each command behaves is on the page about voice commands for dictation.
Your names and terms spelled right in every document
General dictation stumbles on exactly the words that matter: a client surname, a product code, a statute, a drug name. Stenograph lets you add your own terms once, and every later dictation uses that spelling. Professional vocabularies for legal, medical, software and finance work cover the common terms of each field from the first day. Learn how the dictionary works on the page about custom vocabulary speech recognition.
Stenograph and the built in Dictate in Word
Microsoft Word includes its own Dictate button for Microsoft 365 subscribers, and Windows and macOS both offer system dictation. These are real options, already on your computer, and for short notes they may be all you need. Stenograph is a separate product for people who dictate whole documents every day. The differences are practical, not claims about accuracy.
| Point | Built in Dictate in Word | Stenograph |
|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Inside Word and other Microsoft 365 apps | Word plus any app on Mac and Windows, the browser and the phone keyboard |
| Personal dictionary | Not offered as a custom term list | Your own terms plus professional vocabularies |
| Editing by voice | Basic punctuation and some commands | Commands such as "make that a list", "make it shorter", "more formal" |
| Writing style | Raw dictated text | Structured style for Word, other styles per app |
| Recordings and meetings | Outside the scope of the Dictate button | File transcription and meeting notes in the same subscription |
If you dictate a few lines a week, the built in tool is a fair choice. If you write long documents by voice, need your terminology spelled exactly, or move between Word, email and other apps all day, Stenograph is built for that work.
Who uses dictation for Word documents
Long form writers get the most from dictating into Word. Attorneys draft memos and engagement letters, clinicians write referral letters and reports, managers produce proposals and board updates, authors work through chapters. Speaking a draft is usually far quicker than typing it, and the time saved grows with the length of the document. Read how this looks for dictation for lawyers, dictation for doctors and dictation for writers.
- Legal memos, letters and contract markups
- Clinical letters and reports
- Proposals, policies and internal reports
- Book chapters, articles and long drafts
Turn a recording into a Word file
Sometimes the words already exist as audio: an interview, a recorded lecture, a voice memo from the car. Upload the file and Stenograph returns a transcript with timestamps and speaker labels that exports to Word, PDF, TXT or SRT. The page about audio transcription software explains file uploads in detail.
What happens to what you dictate
Audio is processed and then deleted, not stored. Your text history is optional, you can turn it off and delete it at any time, and your content is never used to train AI models. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. The full description is on the dictation privacy page.
Plans for dictating in Word
Solo costs 24 USD per month billed yearly (288 USD per year) or 49 USD month to month, with 1,500 dictation minutes and 300 transcription minutes per month. Pro adds more minutes and every professional vocabulary for 49 USD per month billed yearly. Team and Enterprise add shared dictionaries, an admin console and central billing. All plans and limits are on stenograph pricing.
Questions about dictating into Microsoft Word
Does Stenograph work inside Word, or do I paste the text in
It types directly into Word at the cursor. There is no separate window to copy from.
Will dictated headings and lists show up as real Word formatting
Yes. Dictated lists are inserted as Word lists and headings in heading styles, so numbering, indentation and the table of contents behave as usual.
Do I need Microsoft 365 to use Stenograph in Word
No. Stenograph works with the Word version installed on your Mac or Windows computer and with Word in the browser through the Chrome extension.
Can I try it before paying
Yes, with a one-time demo on the home page. There is no plan at zero; plans start at 24 USD per month billed yearly.
Can I dictate in more than one language in the same document
Yes. Stenograph handles more than 50 languages and keeps a mixed sentence the way you spoke it.
Write your next Word document by voice
Install the desktop app, press the hotkey, and talk the first paragraph into Word. Your terms, your structure, at your cursor.