Google Docs’ voice-typing feature, which lets you “type” and edit text using your voice and a microphone rather than your hands and a keyboard, is getting a couple of key upgrades.
First is that the feature is expanding to “most major browsers.” Currently, Google’s support page notes that it’s “only available in Chrome browsers.” Second is that it is being upgraded to “reduce transcription errors and minimize lost audio during transcription.”
As 9to5Google notes, voice typing has been available in Google Docs for over half a decade, allowing users to get words on the (virtual) page even if their hands are full or otherwise not in a position to be able to traditionally type. It can also work as a handy transcription tool in a pinch, though as our guide explains you might be better off with a dedicated piece of transcription software in most cases.
Frustratingly, although Google’s announcement says the feature is coming to “most major browsers,” it doesn’t specify exactly which browsers these are. At the very least, we hope that it’ll now be officially supported in other Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge (where users report that it hasn’t worked in the past), but “major browsers” would presumably also include Safari and Firefox. We’ve contacted Google for clarification.
As well as the improvements coming to Google Docs, the search giant says that voice-typed speaker notes in Google Slides “will now contain automatically generated punctuation.” The enhanced voice typing features should roll out to all users by the middle of next month.
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