# Voice typing for Slack: dictate messages and threads hands-free

> Slack has no built-in dictation on desktop or web. Add a mic button to every Slack message box and thread with a free Chrome extension and speak instead.

- Published: 2026-08-14
- Reading time: 3 min (~660 words)
- Tags: how-to, slack, voice typing
- Canonical: https://tautau.xyz/blog/voice-typing-for-slack

A huge share of the modern workday gets typed into Slack: replies, thread responses, standup updates, the carefully worded note to your manager. And Slack has no dictation button. There is no mic in the message box on desktop or on the web, so every one of those messages costs keystrokes. The fix is a Chrome extension that puts a mic button directly in the Slack message field: click it, speak, and the text lands in the box ready to send.

## Doesn't Slack already do voice?

Slack has audio features, but none of them turn speech into text in the message box. Huddles are live calls, and audio or video clips send your recording as a recording. Neither helps when you want a written message without the typing. On mobile you can lean on the phone keyboard's dictation, but that does not exist in the desktop app or the browser, which is where most heavy Slack use happens.

The usual fallback, operating system dictation, is as unreliable in Slack as everywhere else on the web: focus conflicts, text landing in the wrong place, an overlay that never appears. A mic button attached to the message field itself avoids the whole category of failure.

## How do I set it up?

Two minutes, once. If you want to hear the recognition quality first, the playground on the tautau.xyz homepage lets you dictate in the browser without installing anything.

- Install tautau from the Chrome Web Store and approve the microphone and page permissions; the extension needs the mic to hear you and page access to place the button.
- Open Slack in Chrome and click into any message box, thread reply, or DM.
- A small mic button appears next to the field. Click it and speak at a normal pace.
- Click again to stop. The transcript lands in the message box.
- Glance over it and hit Enter, just like a typed message.

## Tips for dictating Slack messages

Chat is a slightly different dictation discipline than email. Messages are shorter, the send key is less forgiving, and a lot of what you write is repetitive. A few habits help.

- Keep dictations short. One or two sentences per clip transcribes faster and cleaner, which suits chat perfectly.
- Say "new line" for multi-line messages. A spoken "new line" becomes a real line break, so a three-point update arrives structured instead of as one blob.
- Use snippets for anything you repeat. Set a trigger like "standup" in the extension options, then say "insert standup" and your whole standup template drops into the box. Say "insert signoff" for a sign-off you use in DMs.
- Speak punctuation out loud: "comma", "question mark", "exclamation mark". It feels odd for a day and then becomes automatic.
- Do a two-second read-back before Enter. Slack sends instantly and edits are visible, so the quick glance is worth it.
- Keep emoji and reactions on the keyboard. Dictation is for the sentences; the :+1: stays a keystroke.

## Where does dictation help most in Slack?

The longer the message, the bigger the win. Speaking is three to four times faster than average typing, so thread replies with real context, status updates, and handover notes are where the minutes come back. The honest limit is the two-word reply: "on it" and "thanks" are faster to type than to click a mic for. There is also a social tax in open offices, so a headset mic and a normal speaking volume matter more than they do at home.

## What does it cost?

The free tier gives you five dictations a day when you sign in, no credit card required, which covers a day of substantial Slack messages for most people. If you dictate all day, Base is $3 a month for 200 audio minutes and Pro covers 600. Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store, open Slack, and let your next thread reply be one you spoke.

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Markdown twin of https://tautau.xyz/blog/voice-typing-for-slack — provided for LLM/agent consumption. tautau is a speech-to-text Chrome extension and web app: https://tautau.xyz