How to dictate in Google Slides on a Mac: speaker notes, and the slide itself

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To dictate in Google Slides on a Mac, click Tools, then Dictate speaker notes, click the microphone and talk. That is Google's own voice typing, and it writes into the speaker notes, not onto the slide: Google's help page lists speaker notes and captions for Slides, and nothing for the text boxes on a slide. To dictate the words on the slide itself, click into the text box and use Apple Dictation, which is built into macOS, or YapToText, the free app I built, which types at the cursor in any app and keeps your voice on your Mac.

My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day, slides included. Everything about Google's feature here comes from Google's help page, read on October 6, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 7 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Dictate speaker notes with Google's voice typing
    1. Step 1: Open Dictate speaker notes
    2. Step 2: Click the microphone and talk
    3. Step 3: Stop
  3. Dictate the text on the slide
  4. Compare the three side by side
  5. If voice typing is not working in Slides
  6. The short version
  7. Questions

Steps

  1. Open the presentation in Chrome, Edge or Safari.
  2. Click Tools, then Dictate speaker notes.
  3. Click the microphone and talk, then click it again to stop.
  4. For text on the slide, click into the text box and use Apple Dictation or YapToText.

Dictate speaker notes with Google's voice typing

Google's voice typing in Slides is for speaker notes. It works in the latest Chrome, Edge or Safari, and it types below the slide, not on it.

Step 1: Open Dictate speaker notes

  • You: Open the presentation in Chrome, Edge or Safari. In the menu bar, click Tools, then Dictate speaker notes.
  • What happens: The speaker notes open and a microphone box appears.
  • Check: You can see the microphone box.

Step 2: Click the microphone and talk

  • You: Click the microphone, then speak clearly at a normal volume and pace.
  • What happens: Your words appear in the speaker notes. Google says your browser controls the speech service: it decides how your speech is processed, then sends the text to Slides.
  • Check: The notes fill in as you talk.

Step 3: Stop

  • You: Click the microphone again.
  • What happens: Voice typing stops.
  • Check: The microphone box is no longer listening.

If Dictate speaker notes is missing, Google says an administrator may have turned the feature off on a work or school account. The same help page covers live captions in Slides while you present.

Dictate the text on the slide

The text on the slide needs a dictation tool that works wherever the cursor is. Click into the text box first. Both of these type where the cursor blinks.

  • Apple Dictation. Turn it on once in System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation. Click into a title or text box on the slide, press the Microphone key if your keyboard has one, or your Dictation shortcut, and talk. It stops after 30 seconds without speech.
  • YapToText. Click into the text box, tap Right Command, talk, and tap again. The words are typed at the cursor, and speech recognition runs on your Mac, so nothing you say goes to Google, Apple or me.
  • Either one in the notes too. Both also type into the speaker notes if you click there, so you do not have to switch tools between the slide and the notes.
App Store poster headed Yap it. Bam. It's typed. over the YapToText Home window and the three floating panel layouts.
Figure 1. YapToText types at the cursor in any app, so it reaches the text boxes on a slide that Google's voice typing does not.

YapToText is free on the Mac App Store, for Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later.

Compare the three side by side

Checked October 6, 2026, on Google's help page. Apple Dictation from Apple's Mac User Guide.

Google's voice typingApple DictationYapToText
Speaker notesYes, Tools, Dictate speaker notesYesYes
Text on the slideNoYesYes
BrowsersLatest Chrome, Edge and SafariAnyAny
Where your voice goesYour browser's speech service decidesOn the Mac or to Siri servers; Keyboard settings says whichStays on your Mac
Stops on silenceNot statedAfter 30 secondsNo; you tap to stop

Use Google's for notes if you like it, and a system-wide tool for the slide.

If voice typing is not working in Slides

Google's own fixes are about the microphone and the browser. If the microphone box says it is having trouble hearing you, the browser probably cannot use the microphone.

  • The browser has no microphone access. In System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone, switch your browser on, then reload Slides.
  • No Dictate speaker notes in Tools. Use the latest Chrome, Edge or Safari. On a work or school account, an administrator may have turned it off.
  • You wanted the slide, not the notes. Google's voice typing does not type into slide text boxes. Use Apple Dictation or YapToText there.

The Google Docs dictation guide has the full list of Google's fixes, and the Mac dictation troubleshooting guide covers Apple's.

The short version

  • Speaker notes. Tools, Dictate speaker notes, in Chrome, Edge or Safari.
  • The slide itself. Click into the text box and use Apple Dictation or YapToText.
  • Private and everywhere. YapToText: tap Right Command, talk, tap again.

Google dictates the notes. The slide needs a tool that types wherever your cursor is. If something here does not match what you see in Slides, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

How do I dictate in Google Slides?

For speaker notes, open the presentation in Chrome, Edge or Safari, click Tools, then Dictate speaker notes, click the microphone and talk. For the text on a slide, click into the text box and use a system-wide tool such as Apple Dictation or YapToText.

Does Google Slides have voice typing?

Yes, for speaker notes and for live captions, according to Google's help page, read October 6, 2026. It does not type into the text boxes on a slide.

Can I use voice to text on the slide itself in Google Slides?

Not with Google's own voice typing. On a Mac, click into the text box and use Apple Dictation, built into macOS, or YapToText, which types at the cursor in any app.

Why is voice typing not working in Google Slides?

Usually the browser is not allowed to use the microphone: switch it on in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone. The feature needs the latest Chrome, Edge or Safari, and on a work or school account an administrator may have turned it off.