How to Dictate in Gmail on Mac with Hearsy
Dictate emails in Gmail at the speed of thought
Gmail has no built-in voice dictation on desktop. Google's voice typing only works inside Google Docs, leaving Gmail users stuck typing every email by hand. Hearsy fills that gap. It runs locally on your Mac, transcribes your voice in under 200 milliseconds, and pastes the result directly into Gmail's compose window. No browser extensions, no cloud uploads, no monthly fees. For a comparison of all dictation methods available for Gmail on Mac — including macOS built-in dictation and Chrome extensions — see our [blog post on dictating emails in Gmail](/blog/dictate-emails-gmail-mac).
Step-by-step setup
- 1
Open Gmail in your browser
Navigate to Gmail in Safari, Chrome, Arc, or any browser on your Mac. Click Compose or open a reply to start a new email.
- 2
Click where you want text to appear
Place your cursor in the email body, subject line, or any text field. Hearsy pastes text wherever your cursor is active.
- 3
Press your Hearsy hotkey
Trigger Hearsy with your configured keyboard shortcut (default: Fn twice or a custom hotkey). The recording indicator appears in your menu bar.
- 4
Speak naturally
Talk at your normal pace. Say what you'd type — greetings, the body of your message, sign-offs. Hearsy handles punctuation, capitalization, and formatting automatically.
- 5
Press the hotkey again to finish
Tap the hotkey once more. Hearsy transcribes your speech locally, optionally polishes it with AI enhancement, and pastes the text into Gmail's compose field. Your email is ready to review and send.
Works in Every App on Your Mac
Hearsy pastes transcribed text wherever your cursor is — Gmail, Cursor, Claude, Slack, and hundreds more.
Why use Hearsy for Gmail?
Most dictation tools send your audio to remote servers for processing. That means your email content — client names, project details, personal messages — travels through third-party infrastructure before it reaches your inbox.
Hearsy processes everything on-device using local AI models. Your voice never leaves your Mac. This matters especially for email, where sensitive information is the norm rather than the exception.
Beyond privacy, Hearsy is fast. The Parakeet engine transcribes speech in under 200 milliseconds, so text appears the moment you stop talking. And with optional AI enhancement, your rough dictation gets cleaned up into properly punctuated, professionally worded email text — automatically.
When to use voice dictation in Gmail
Quick replies
Most emails need a brief response — a confirmation, a follow-up question, a thank-you. Dictating these takes seconds instead of breaking your flow to type.
Long-form emails
Project updates, client proposals, and detailed explanations are faster to speak than type. Dictate the full message, then use AI enhancement to polish the formatting.
Catching up on email backlog
When you return from a meeting or vacation with dozens of emails waiting, dictation lets you clear your inbox 3-4x faster than typing each response.
Multilingual correspondence
Writing emails in a second language is slow and error-prone. Dictating in your native language and letting Hearsy transcribe accurately removes that friction.
Accessibility
For users with RSI, carpal tunnel, or other conditions that make sustained typing painful, voice dictation turns email from a physical burden into an effortless task.
Tips for better results
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Enable AI enhancement for professional emails — it turns casual speech into well-structured, properly punctuated text without changing your meaning.
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Dictate the subject line first. Click the subject field, dictate a short summary, then click the body to dictate the full message.
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For multilingual emails, switch Hearsy's language in the menu bar before dictating. Parakeet supports 25 languages, Whisper supports 99+.
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Use dictation for quick replies — a two-sentence response that takes 30 seconds to type takes 5 seconds to speak.
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Dictate while reviewing other emails. Hearsy works in the background, so you can read context in one tab and dictate your response in another.
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For longer emails, dictate in sections. Speak your opening paragraph, review it, then dictate the next. This keeps your thoughts organized.
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Choose the right engine for Gmail: Parakeet for fast English responses, Whisper for technical terms or non-English emails. Switch engines in Hearsy's settings at any time.
Frequently asked questions
Can I dictate directly into Gmail on a Mac?
Yes. Hearsy works with Gmail in any browser on macOS. Press your hotkey, speak, and text is pasted into whatever Gmail field your cursor is in — compose body, subject line, or search bar.
Is my email content sent to the cloud when I dictate?
Not with Hearsy. All transcription happens locally on your Mac using on-device AI models. Your audio and text never leave your computer. This is different from cloud-based dictation tools that process audio on remote servers.
How accurate is dictation for email?
Hearsy's Parakeet engine delivers high accuracy for conversational English and 24 other languages. With AI enhancement enabled, the output is automatically cleaned up with proper punctuation, capitalization, and professional formatting — ready to send without manual editing.
Can I dictate emails in languages other than English?
Yes. Hearsy supports 25 languages with the Parakeet engine and 99+ languages with the Whisper engine. Switch languages from the menu bar before dictating. This is especially useful for bilingual professionals who email in multiple languages throughout the day.
Does Hearsy work with Google Workspace and corporate Gmail?
Yes. Hearsy operates at the macOS system level, not as a browser extension. It works with any Gmail account — personal, Google Workspace, or corporate — in any browser. No IT admin approval or browser permissions needed.
How does AI enhancement work for emails?
Hearsy's optional Email enhancement template runs your transcription through a language model before pasting. It removes filler words and repeated phrases, fixes grammar and punctuation, and adjusts tone to professional without making it stiff. The process adds about 1-2 seconds and can be toggled off for raw transcription.
More workflows
Ready to Try Voice Dictation?
Hearsy is free to download. No signup, no credit card. Just install and start dictating.
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