Dictate emails in Microsoft Outlook

Dictate the body or subject of an Outlook email with Flow. Flow needs an internet connection.

Mac and Windows

Start Flow — check the menu-bar icon on Mac or the system-tray icon on Windows, since the Flow Bar may be hidden. On Mac, enable Wispr Flow in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. The default dictation shortcut is Fn on Mac (Ctrl+Opt on Mac keyboards without an Fn key) and Ctrl+Win or Caps Lock on Windows; open Shortcuts from Flow's menu-bar or system-tray menu to check, change, or reset bindings.

1. Choose New Email in Outlook, or reply to a message.

2. Click inside the body or Subject field and confirm you see the cursor.

3. Hold your dictation shortcut, speak, and release to finish.

4. Wait for the text to appear before switching windows or editing.

The same steps work in Outlook on the web. Flow inserts the dictation as one paste into the focused field; moving focus before insertion can send text elsewhere or make pasting fail. Desktop dictation warns at 19 minutes and stops at 20 minutes, so split longer emails into separate dictations.

iPhone

Flow needs microphone access and Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Flow → Allow Full Access; Full Access changes take effect without a restart. Missing permissions produce a prompt with a button that opens Settings. If Flow is missing from the keyboard list, see iPhone keyboard setup.

1. Open Outlook and compose or reply.

2. Tap the email body to show the keyboard.

3. Long-press the globe key to choose Wispr Flow; a tap advances to the next keyboard.

4. Tap the dictation button, speak, then tap the same button, now a checkmark, to stop.

5. Keep the Flow Keyboard visible until the text is inserted.

Some corporate Outlook policies block third-party keyboards. If your organization permits it, use Quick Dictation to Clipboard and paste into Outlook, or dictate in another supported app and copy the text. Siri phrases include "quick dictate with Flow" and "dictate to clipboard with Flow"; see iPhone shortcuts.

Android

By default, the Flow Bubble requires a visible keyboard and hides when you dismiss it; if you enable showing the bubble without the keyboard, focusing an editable field is enough. If the bubble is missing, follow Android setup.

1. Compose or reply in Outlook, then tap the body so the keyboard appears.

2. Place the cursor at the end of any existing draft text.

3. Tap the Flow Bubble to start speaking, or hold it while speaking and release to submit.

4. Tap Done to finish, then check the inserted text.

Offline taps and holds show an offline message without starting dictation.

If insertion fails, Flow copies the transcript, notifies you, and saves it in history: tap Paste if offered, or paste the clipboard text into Outlook. The separate Copy to clipboard button copies again and disappears after 5 seconds. When insertion cannot be confirmed, Flow only fills a field it can read as empty — existing draft text or an unreadable field is left untouched and the dictation goes to the clipboard instead.

Password, numeric, and phone-type fields suppress the bubble and refuse insertion; any transcript goes to the clipboard. Browser URL bars and system notification-reply boxes are exceptions to bubble suppression.

If desktop text does not appear

1. Click the intended Outlook field.

2. Press and release Cmd+Ctrl+V on Mac or Shift+Alt+Z on Windows, or your custom paste-last shortcut. Holding the keys delays pasting.

You can also choose Paste last transcript from Flow's menu-bar or system-tray menu when a transcript exists; dismissed, failed, or unformatted dictations are retried before pasting.

Formatting, errors, and word limits

Outlook controls the email's font and visual styling; adjust fonts and layout with Outlook's toolbar. On desktop, formatted dictation inherits the surrounding email's font, with plain text available for fields that do not accept formatting.

Follow the action shown for a microphone, network, or transcription error. Audio that was never captured needs a fresh recording. Reaching your account word limit also stops dictation; check the allowance shown in Flow. On desktop, the free-plan allowance warning and the hard limit that stops dictation are separate, an active 8,000-word bonus increases both, and the week resets Sunday, 12 a.m. PT.

Still stuck?

Contact support if the issue happens only in Outlook. Include:

• Your platform, device, and Outlook type: classic, new, web, or mobile

• Whether manual paste works

• The other apps you tested and the steps you tried