SpeakribeDictation for Gmail
Email is the place where speaking beats typing by the widest margin, because emails are long and mostly reactive. Open the reply, hold the shortcut, say what you mean, then edit the result like any draft.
Can you send the final copy before we publish?
It's ready. I tightened the examples, so we're good to publish.
Why it helps here
The reply you have already composed in your head takes four minutes to type, so it waits. Most email backlog is not undecided email. It is decided email that has not been typed yet.
Long replies stop being a chore
The properly explained answer costs about as much as the one-line one, so the quality of your email stops being a function of how tired your hands are.
Punctuation handled
You get sentences, capitals and commas, not a run-on transcript, so the draft is close to sendable rather than a cleanup job.
Client and confidential mail stays private
Nothing is uploaded. For legal, medical or client correspondence, the dictation never reaches a third party.
Things people say into Gmail
- “It's ready. I tightened the examples, so we're good to publish.”
- “Thanks for sending this over. Two thoughts on the timeline, and one question about scope.”
- “I won't make Thursday, but Friday morning works. Happy to send notes beforehand either way.”
- “Following up on my note from last week. No rush, just making sure it didn't get buried.”
Setting up for Gmail
Gmail in a browser and Apple Mail behave identically from Speakribe's side, because it types into the focused field and does not know which app that is. The setup worth doing is about the reply window, not the mail client.
Open the reply before you speak
Hit reply and click into the body. Gmail keeps keyboard focus on the message list until you do, so speaking too early sends your email into Gmail's single-letter shortcuts — which archive things.
Use a binding Gmail cannot claim
Gmail's shortcuts are single letters with no modifier, so almost any chord is safe, but a modifier-only binding is still the least eventful choice. This is the one app where the collision risk is highest and the consequence is your mail moving.
Dictate the whole reply, then read it
Say the entire message in one take rather than sentence by sentence. Email is where the finished-then-edit rhythm pays off most, because the draft is long enough that stopping to check each line costs more than reading it once at the end.
Leave auto-submit off
There is a setting that presses Enter when transcription finishes. In a mail client Enter is a newline, not send, so it does nothing useful here — and if you have it on for another app, this is a good reason to check which key it is bound to.
One dictation, start to finish
A reply that had been sitting unanswered for two days, spoken in about thirty seconds. Typed, it is the four-minute job that kept losing to something more urgent.
Thanks for sending this through, and sorry for the slow reply. I've read the proposal properly now. The scope looks right and the timeline is realistic, so I'm happy in principle. The one thing I want to change before we sign anything is the payment schedule — thirty percent up front is more than we normally do at this stage, and I'd rather split it across the two milestones instead. If that works on your side, send a revised version and I'll get it approved this week.
Thanks for sending this through, and sorry for the slow reply. I've read the proposal properly now. The scope looks right and the timeline is realistic, so I'm happy in principle. The one thing I want to change before we sign anything is the payment schedule — thirty percent up front is more than we normally do at this stage, and I'd rather split it across the two milestones instead. If that works on your side, send a revised version and I'll get it approved this week.
- The dash after "payment schedule" was inferred from a pause mid-sentence. Punctuation comes out of delivery, so the rhythm you speak in is roughly the punctuation you get.
- "thirty percent" stayed as words rather than becoming "30%". If you want the numeral, it is a two-character edit; there is no setting that decides this for you.
- Contractions survived — "I've", "I'd" — which is what keeps a dictated email sounding like a person. Nothing is being rewritten to a house style, because nothing is being rewritten at all.
What it won't do in Gmail
It won't send, file or archive
No email action is available by voice. Speakribe writes the body; you still press send, and you still decide who is on the CC line.
No spoken punctuation commands
Punctuation is inferred from how you speak rather than dictated, so saying "comma" or "new paragraph" puts those words in your email. This is a genuine trade: it reads more naturally and gives you less direct control.
Signatures and quoted text are yours to avoid
Text lands wherever the cursor is, including in the middle of a quoted thread if that is where you left it. Click into the empty space above the quote before you start.
Questions people actually ask
- Does it work in the Gmail web app and Apple Mail?
- Both, and in any other mail client. Speakribe types into the focused field rather than integrating with a specific app.
- Can I say punctuation out loud?
- You do not need to. Punctuation and capitalisation are inferred from natural speech, so you can talk normally.
- Does it work without internet?
- Yes. Transcription is on-device, so it works on a plane. You will just need a connection to actually send the mail.
- Will it write in my voice or clean my writing up?
- Neither. It writes down what you said, contractions and hesitations included, and leaves the editing to you. If you want a model to smooth your sentences as you dictate, that is a real feature and Speakribe does not have it.
- Is it safe for client or privileged email?
- The transcription step is, because it never leaves your Mac and there is no account or server involved. What happens after that is your mail provider's business as usual — dictating a message does not change where the email itself goes.
Speakribe in other apps
Ready to stop typing?
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