Voice input in apps: how it works, step by step

Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.

Voice input in apps works through a global hotkey that fires in any text field of the active window (email, a document, a messenger) without switching between different tools for different programs. In Potok (potok.now) this is the Ctrl+Space hotkey and a free plan of 2500 words per week: hold, speak, release, and the text lands where the cursor was.

Which app do you use most during the day: email, a messenger, a document editor? Technically the answer changes little: voice input that works at the level of the whole system copes equally well with any of them. The articles in this section cover the nuances of working in specific apps, from work tools such as voice input in Bitrix24 and voice input in Excel (in Russian) to AI chats such as voice input for ChatGPT: where insertion works smoothly and where there are quirks.

The path from installation to habit

Install a voice input program and select Russian explicitly if it supports several languages: the wrong one may be on by default.
Set the hotkey so that it does not clash with key combinations already taken in the apps you use often: in some editors and messengers the standard combinations may be taken by their own functions.
Start with one familiar app, such as email, and dictate a few real emails there rather than test phrases. This shows faster how the program copes with your way of speaking.
Check text insertion in messengers separately from email: message fields sometimes handle inserted text differently, especially if the app has autocomplete or on-the-fly formatting.
Add to the personal dictionary the terms and names that come up often in this particular app: work correspondence and personal messages usually use different vocabulary.
Extend use to a second and third app only after the first one works confidently: this builds a stable habit instead of scattered attempts.
After a few weeks, assess in which apps voice input has taken root and in which you still go back to the keyboard, and work out why.
If an app still has not taken after several attempts, do not force it: go back to the keyboard in that app and keep voice input where it really saves time rather than becoming an extra step.

All articles in this section, in Russian (52): potok.now/prilozheniya

How to make the habit stick

The habit forms faster with regular use of voice input in the same scenario, without random rare attempts. Start with one recurring task (for example, answering email in the morning) and stick to it for the first week before spreading the habit wider.

At first it helps to keep the keyboard at hand as a fallback: if a phrase is not recognized the first time, it is easier to fix it by hand and keep dictating than to break the flow of speech for another attempt.

Over time you will need this fallback less and less, as the program gets used to your voice and terms and you learn to phrase things so they are easier to recognize.

Where this path will not work

This path does not fit fields where text insertion is technically impossible: passwords, some protected forms of banking services, certain game interfaces in full-screen mode. In such places a voice input program simply has nowhere to insert the finished text, no matter how well it recognizes speech.

Nor will it work where an app requires a specific input format: code, formulas, table data with an exact structure, because the voice conveys connected speech, not symbols line by line. Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work at all without the internet: where there is no network at all, none of the steps on this path will help. More on whether voice input works in any app (in Russian) and whether Word has voice input (in Russian) is in the neighboring articles of the section.

Frequently asked questions

Does voice input work the same in all apps?

In most text fields, yes, if the app supports standard text insertion. The exceptions are protected fields such as passwords and some specific editors where third-party programs cannot insert text directly.

Do I need to set up voice input separately for each app?

No, if the program works at the system level rather than being built into a specific app. The hotkey is set up once and works the same in email, a messenger and documents, with no re-setup for each program.

Voice input in apps: what to do and what to check?

Voice input in apps. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input in apps you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Voice input in apps: how Potok differs from built-in dictation?

Voice input in apps: does recognition work without an internet connection?

Voice input in apps. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Voice input in apps you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Voice input in apps: how much it costs and what the free plan includes?

Voice input in apps. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input in apps you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.

Check it in one evening

Install Potok, dictate what you usually type and compare. 14 days of full access, no card needed. Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet.

Download Potok

You dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.

Related software: terms compared

Terms are taken from the services' official websites.
Service	Platforms	Free	Price	Payment from Russia	Where speech is recognized
Potok	Windows, macOS, Linux	Free: 2500 words per week; full access for the first 14 days, no card needed	Pro 690 ₽/mo, 499 ₽/mo when paid yearly	Russian bank cards, rubles	cloud, servers in Russia; internet required
SpeakFlow	Windows, Web	30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever	690 ₽/mo (Personal (unlimited))	rubles directly	cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed)
Diktuy	Windows, macOS	30 minutes of dictation per month, free forever	239 ₽/mo (Profi (monthly equivalent when billed yearly)); 2870 ₽/yr (Profi (year, billed in full)); 479 ₽/mo (Max (monthly equivalent when billed yearly))	rubles directly (not confirmed)	cloud (the data center country is not disclosed on the website) (not confirmed)
Talkpad	macOS, Windows, Android	2500 words/week on desktop, 1500 words/week on mobile, free forever; plus a 14-day Pro trial	$6/mo (Pro (billed yearly, $72/yr)); $8/mo (Pro (monthly billing))	unknown (not confirmed)	cloud (the legal entity is registered in Australia; the website is hosted on Cloudflare; the exact location of the ASR servers is not disclosed in the privacy policy) (not confirmed)
Voisty	Windows, macOS	5 minutes of transcription (to judge the quality)	$6.7/mo (Pro); $67/yr (Pro (year)); $99/one-time (Lifetime)	Visa/Mastercard/Amex cards, PayPal; whether Russian cards are accepted is not stated (not confirmed)	device (offline, local models such as Whisper Large V3 Turbo / NVIDIA Parakeet)
WhispeRu	Windows	7-day free trial (no card)	290 ₽/mo (monthly license); 1990 ₽/yr (yearly license); 4990 ₽/one-time (lifetime license)	rubles directly (payment via YooKassa)	device (offline)
GigaType	Windows, macOS	free with no limits: open source under the MIT license (Copyright (c) 2026 Disrupt Builders), all features are available without payment	—	not needed: there are no paid plans	device (offline, Sber's GigaAM neural network)
Molvi	Windows, macOS	free forever, no accounts and no payment	—	not needed: the product is free; voluntary donations are accepted via Telegram Tribute or by card on the website, amounts are not fixed	device (offline; best quality on an NVIDIA GPU, otherwise a fast model on the CPU)

Built-in dictation and Potok

Based on Microsoft and Apple help pages.
Tool	Where it works	Russian language	Where speech is recognized
Potok	Windows, macOS, Linux	primary language	cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline
Windows voice typing (Win+H)	Windows 10 and 11	Windows 11 only	Microsoft cloud, does not work offline
macOS Dictation	macOS	yes	on the device or on Apple servers

Primary sources: speakflow.ru · speakflow.ru · speakflow.ru · blog.speakflow.ru