How to dictate messages in Teams with your voice (Windows and Mac)

Teams has no dictation for chat

Microsoft doesn't document a button for dictating chat messages in Teams on a computer. On Microsoft's forum, in 2024, a moderator answered that desktop Teams has no built-in dictation for typing messages with your voice, and suggested using your operating system's speech recognition instead.

What Teams does have:

• Audio or video clips in chat: up to a minute, from the desktop app or from iOS. They get automatic captions, and you can download the transcript. Fine for a quick heads-up, but the other person has to play it.
• Copilot Chat's microphone, which dictates what you ask Copilot. It doesn't work for your chat messages.

Option 1: your computer's dictation

It works in the Teams app, in Teams in the browser and in any other app.

• On Windows: click in the message box and press Windows + H. To stop, click the microphone on the voice typing bar. It uses Microsoft's online speech recognition, so it needs the internet. How to use Windows voice typing.
• On a Mac: turn on dictation in Apple menu › System Settings › Keyboard › Dictation, then start it with the Microphone key or a shortcut you choose. To stop, press the Microphone key or your shortcut again. Depending on the language and your Mac, it may need the internet; that same setting tells you. How to use Mac dictation.

Good for: dictating in any app without installing anything. Missing: removing filler words. It types exactly what you say: if you said "um", it types it, and if you corrected yourself mid-sentence, both versions stay. The exception is Windows "fluid dictation", which cleans up filler words in English on Copilot+ PCs.

Option 2: Loro

Loro types what you said, minus the "um"s and the half-sentence you corrected.

1. Download Loro for free for Windows or Mac.
2. In Teams, click in the message box of a chat or a channel.
3. Hold Ctrl + Win (fn on a Mac) and talk.
4. Let go. The message appears. Check it and send it yourself.

In the Teams app and in Teams in the browser, when you're online, Loro writes in a chat tone: short sentences, and no greetings or sign-offs you didn't say. If the message is a single short sentence, it goes without a final period. This is on by default; you can change it or turn it off in Settings › Personalization › Styles per app.

For example, you say:

um, Martin, I just uploaded the file, uh, take a look when you can

And Loro types:

Martin, I just uploaded the file. Take a look when you can.

And if all you say is "uh, joining the call now", Loro types "Joining the call now", with no period at the end.

Reply without dictating it all. With Loro Pro, click in the reply box, hold Ctrl + Alt (Control + Option on a Mac) and ask for what you want to write: "reply to this message" or "tell her yes, but on Thursday". Loro looks at your screen and writes the reply the way you would, where your cursor is. It needs the internet, and the screenshot isn't stored.

Good for: dictating in Teams and any other app without filler words. Missing: it doesn't come installed (you have to download it), and the chat tone and self-corrections need the internet; offline, it still types and removes filler words. Rewriting by voice ("make it shorter") and replying by looking at your screen are Pro-only, and the free plan dictates 2,000 words a week.

Teams meetings: notes without a bot

On a Teams call, Loro can take the notes too: it asks "Take notes on this call?" and listens from your computer, without adding a bot to the meeting. When you hang up, you get the topics and each person's next steps. Tell the others you're taking notes. How to transcribe a Teams meeting.

The options, compared

Tips for dictating in Teams

• Talk the way you'd talk to the person. Don't say the commas: Loro adds them.
• If you slip, press Esc before you let go, and nothing gets typed.
• Add your coworkers', clients' and projects' names to your dictionary.
• If it came out long, select it and, with Pro, hold Ctrl + Win and say "make it shorter".

Try Loro for free

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

Download for free

Frequently asked questions

Does Teams have voice dictation?›

Not for chat messages on a computer. Teams can record audio or video clips of up to a minute, and Copilot Chat's microphone only dictates what you ask Copilot. To write messages with your voice, use Windows + H, Mac dictation or Loro.

How do I use speech to text in the Teams chat?›

Click in the message box and press Windows + H (on a Mac, your dictation shortcut). With Loro, hold Ctrl + Win (fn on a Mac), talk and let go: the message comes out without filler words.

How do I send a voice message in Teams on my computer?›

From the desktop app, record an audio or video clip in the chat; it can be up to a minute long. If you'd rather the other person read it, dictate the message with Windows + H or Loro.

Does Loro send the message for me?›

No. Loro pastes the text into the box and never presses Enter: the message goes out when you send it.

Does it work in Teams in the browser?›

Yes. Loro recognizes Teams in the browser and, when you're online, writes in a chat tone there too.

Can Loro take notes in Teams meetings?›

Yes, without a bot: Loro listens from your computer, so no extra participant joins the meeting. Still, tell the others you're taking notes.

Sources

• Microsoft, Record a video or audio clip in Microsoft Teams, checked October 15, 2026.
• Microsoft Q&A forum, Voice messages in MS Teams for Desktop (a moderator's answer, 2024), checked October 15, 2026.
• Microsoft, Dictate messages to Microsoft Copilot Chat, checked October 15, 2026.
• Microsoft, voice typing in Windows, checked October 15, 2026.
• Apple, dictation on Mac, checked October 15, 2026.