Voice typing in Canva: how to dictate text (Windows and Mac)

Canva has no dictation button

Canva's help center doesn't list any feature for typing with your voice into a text box or a Canva Doc. What it does have with voice is something else:

• Canva AI's microphone. According to Canva, you can select the microphone icon and speak your prompt: you ask the AI to create or change a design. It's for asking for things, not for typing your own text into the design.
• Help Assistant, which takes questions about Canva with the Chat using voice button.
• The Transcription app, which turns an audio or video file you upload into text, under 90 minutes and 500 MB. It's for recorded files, not for dictating while you design.
• Canva AI Voice, which does the opposite: it turns text into a voiceover for your videos and presentations.

So to type your own text by voice, you use your computer's dictation or a dictation app. Canva says its desktop app has the same features as the browser version, so the steps work in both.

Option 1: Windows dictation

1. Open your design in Canva.
2. Double-click the text box you want to write in. To add a new one, Canva's shortcut is T.
3. Press Windows + H and talk.
4. To stop, click the microphone on the voice typing bar. To finish editing, click outside the text box.

It needs the internet and types almost word for word: the "um"s and "uh"s end up in your design. You can dictate punctuation or turn on auto punctuation in the bar's gear menu. The exception is Windows "fluid dictation", which cleans up filler words, but only in English and only on Copilot+ PCs. How to use Windows voice typing.

Option 2: Mac dictation

1. Turn it on in Apple menu › System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation and pick a shortcut.
2. In Canva, double-click the text box.
3. Press the Microphone key or your shortcut, and talk.
4. To finish, press the Microphone key or your shortcut again.

In supported languages it adds commas, periods and question marks on its own, but it doesn't remove filler words either. Depending on the language and your Mac, it may need the internet. How to use Mac dictation.

Option 3: Loro

Loro types in Canva what you meant to say, minus the "um"s and the half-sentence you corrected.

1. Download Loro for free for Windows or Mac.
2. Double-click the text box in your design, or click in the paragraph of your Canva Doc.
3. Hold Ctrl + Win (fn on a Mac) and talk the way you talk.
4. Let go. The text appears where your cursor is.

An example, for the copy of an ad. You say: "um, come see the new collection, uh, we open Saturday at the downtown store, see you there". Loro types: "Come see the new collection. We open Saturday at the downtown store. See you there".

With Loro Pro you can also rewrite by voice: select the text, hold Ctrl + Win and say "make it shorter", which helps when a headline doesn't fit. And if you add your brand and product names to your dictionary, Loro spells them the same way every time.

If the text doesn't show up, check that the cursor is blinking inside the box. When there's nowhere to type, Loro copies the text and saves it in its history, so you can paste it later.

Good for: dictating in Canva and in any other app without filler words. Missing: it doesn't come installed (you have to download it), and understanding self-corrections needs the internet; offline, it still types and removes filler words. Rewriting by voice is Pro-only, and the free plan dictates 2,000 words a week.

What's worth dictating in Canva

• Speaker notes. Open your presentation and select Notes at the bottom of the editor. Dictating them is like rehearsing: you say out loud what you'll tell people on each page, and it ends up written. Canva shows them in Presenter View and when you use Present and record.
• Long text in Canva Docs: paragraphs, descriptions, scripts.
• Copy for your posts and ads, which you then fit to the design.

Check prices, dates and figures before you publish: depending on how you say them, numbers can come out as digits or as words, and a wrong number in a design stands out.

The options, compared

Try Loro for free

Dictate in any app and get notes from your meetings, with no bot. For Windows and Mac, no card needed.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Canva have voice typing?›

Not for writing in your designs or Canva Docs. What it has is a microphone for giving instructions to Canva AI. To dictate your own text, use Windows + H, Mac dictation or Loro.

How do I turn on voice typing in Canva?›

There's nothing to turn on in Canva: you turn on your computer's dictation. On Windows it's ready to go with Windows + H, and on a Mac you turn it on in Apple menu › System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation. Then double-click the text box in Canva and dictate.

Can I dictate in Canva Docs?›

Yes, the same way as in a design: click in the paragraph where you want to write and dictate with Windows + H, Mac dictation or Loro.

Can I dictate in Canva on my phone?›

Yes, with your keyboard's microphone, which types wherever you can type: on an iPhone you turn it on in Settings › General › Keyboard › Enable Dictation, and on Android it's at the top of the Gboard keyboard. Loro is for computers only, for now.

Can Canva turn audio into text?›

Yes, with its Transcription app: you upload an audio or video file under 90 minutes and 500 MB. If you'd rather keep the audio on your computer, use our free audio transcription tool, which runs inside your browser.

Sources

• Canva, Add and edit text, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Canva keyboard shortcuts, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Get started with Canva AI, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Get quick help with Help Assistant, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Canva accessibility features, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Convert speech to text online (the Transcription app), checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Turn text into voiceovers using Canva AI voice, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Download designs with notes, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Canva, Get started with the Canva Desktop App, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Microsoft, voice typing in Windows, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Apple, dictation on Mac, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Apple, dictation on iPhone, checked on October 28, 2026.
• Google, type with your voice in Gboard, checked on October 28, 2026.