March 28, 20264 min read

Dictation for Email: Write Emails 3x Faster with Voice on Mac

Email is mostly typing the same kinds of sentences over and over. "Thanks for sending this." "Let me know if you have questions." "Can we schedule a call?" Speaking these feels faster than typing them, and it is.

Why This Works#

Typing: 40-60 words per minute. Speaking: 130-150. Email is natural language, not code. No symbols. Just talk.

Info

A 100-word email takes:

  • Typing: 1.5-2.5 minutes
  • Dictation: 40-50 seconds

If you send 40 emails a day, that adds up to 40-80 minutes.

Works Anywhere#

Whisperer inserts text wherever your cursor is. Any email client works:

  • Gmail (Chrome, Safari, Arc)
  • Apple Mail
  • Outlook
  • Superhuman
  • Hey

Set Up a Profile for Email#

Create a per-app profile with natural language mode (not Code Mode). Whisperer switches automatically when your email app is in front.

You get proper sentences with punctuation for email, while Code Mode stays active for your IDE.

How It Works#

Quick Replies#

Hold Fn, say your reply, release:

You say

Thanks for sending this over. I've reviewed the proposal and have a few comments. Can we schedule a call for Thursday afternoon to discuss? I'm free after two PM.

OutputEmail
Thanks for sending this over. I've reviewed the proposal and have a few comments. Can we schedule a call for Thursday afternoon to discuss? I'm free after two PM.

Text appears in the reply field. Done.

Longer Emails#

For multi-paragraph emails, toggle mode works better (press Fn once to start, again to stop):

You say

Hi team. I wanted to share an update on the Q2 roadmap. We've finalized the three main initiatives: the API migration, the new onboarding flow, and the performance optimization sprint. Each one has a designated lead and a two-week timeline. I'll share the detailed breakdown in our Monday standup. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns before then.

OutputEmail
Hi team. I wanted to share an update on the Q2 roadmap. We've finalized the three main initiatives: the API migration, the new onboarding flow, and the performance optimization sprint. Each one has a designated lead and a two-week timeline. I'll share the detailed breakdown in our Monday standup. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns before then.

Subject Lines#

Click the subject field, hold Fn:

You say

Q2 roadmap update and next steps

OutputSubject
Q2 roadmap update and next steps

What Works Best#

1

Speak naturally

Whisperer picks up punctuation from your pauses and tone

2

Dictate the whole thing at once

Sentence by sentence is slower than just saying the whole email

3

Scan before sending

Takes two seconds. Catches the occasional transcription error.

4

Add names to your dictionary

Colleague names, project names, company jargon. Saves correction time.

Automatic Mode Switching#

Tip

Per-app profiles mean you don't think about modes:

AppModeResult
GmailNatural language"Hi Sarah, can we reschedule our 3pm?"
VS CodeCode Modeconst fetchUserData = async () => {
SlackChat style"sounds good, I'll take a look"
TerminalCode Modegit push origin main

Whisperer sees which app is active and adjusts.

Mobile Drafts#

Whisperer is Mac-only, but most email clients sync drafts. Start an email by voice on your Mac, finish on your phone. Or the other way around.

Questions People Ask#

Won't it make mistakes?

Whisper handles conversational English well. Accuracy runs 95%+ for email. You should still scan before hitting send.

What about sensitive emails?

Everything processes locally on your Mac. Nothing gets sent anywhere. Fine for confidential stuff.

Does formatting work?

Whisperer inserts plain text. Your email client handles formatting. Plain text is usually what you want anyway.

Related: Dictation for Slack, Gmail & Notion, AI Writing & Post-Processing, Per-App Profiles. See pricing and all features.

Ready to try voice dictation on your Mac?

Free download. No account required. 100% offline.

Download on the Mac App Store

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