How to dictate anywhere on your Mac by holding Fn

Typing is the slow part of most messages. You already know what you want to say; the keyboard is what holds you back. Dictation removes that step: you say the sentence, and it appears where you were going to type it.

Jeeve's dictation is built around one gesture, so you can use it without thinking about it.

The gesture: hold, talk, let go

1. Put your cursor where the text should go. A Slack message, an email, a Notion page, a code editor or a form on a website: it works in any text field.
2. Hold the Fn key. A small pill appears on screen to show Jeeve is listening.
3. Talk normally. No need to speak slowly or pause between words.
4. Let go. Jeeve types what you said, at your cursor.

On Windows, hold Ctrl and the Windows key instead of Fn.

Why hold a key instead of pressing a button

Holding the key means the microphone is only on while your finger is down. There is no "is it still recording?" moment, and nothing is picked up after you let go. It also keeps your hands on the keyboard: dictate one sentence, type the next, dictate again.

Getting names and terms right

Dictation is only useful if it spells your world correctly: client names, street names, product names, the jargon of your trade.

• Add them to your dictionary. Names and terms you add are spelled your way from then on.
• Or just correct the text. Jeeve learns from your corrections, so the same word comes out right next time.

Who turns your voice into text

Jeeve's speech-to-text runs on Mistral AI, a French AI company. Your workspace data is hosted in Paris and is never used to train AI models. See Security for the details.

From dictation to to-dos

Dictation puts words where your cursor is. When you talk to Jeeve itself, the same sentence can become a to-do instead: "Send the Moreau proposal on Friday" turns into a to-do with a due date and the right agent assigned. Voice notes to to-dos explains how.

Try it

Download Jeeve, sign in, put your cursor in any text field and hold Fn.