# ChatGPT dictation on a Mac: how to use it, and what happens to the audio

Canonical page: https://flit.fyi/dictate-to-chatgpt-mac

> ChatGPT dictation on a Mac: select Dictate in the composer, speak, edit and send. Where the audio goes, how long it is kept, and a local option.

[Atta 🐬](https://attacomsian.com)

Founder, Flit

October 8, 2026

The short answer

In the ChatGPT desktop app for Mac, select Dictate in the composer, speak, and your words are transcribed into the composer for you to edit before sending. OpenAI says the recorded audio is sent to its models to be transcribed, and is kept for as long as the chat is in your history. Dictation is separate from ChatGPT Voice, which is a live spoken conversation. Flit, a local dictation app for Mac, types finished text into ChatGPT and every other app while you hold a key, and the audio never leaves the Mac.

## How to dictate to ChatGPT on a Mac

1. Open the ChatGPT desktop app and start or open a chat.
2. Click into the composer.
3. Select **Dictate** and start talking.
4. Stop when you are done. The transcription appears in the composer.
5. Read it, edit it, and send.

If the app asks for the microphone the first time, allow it. The permission is under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

Dictating to ChatGPT is one button. The questions worth a guide are the ones around it: how it differs from Voice, which of the two Mac apps you have, and what happens to the recording.

## Dictation, Voice, and the other ways

| Way                      | What it does                              | Where the audio goes                                 |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| Dictate, in the composer | Turns speech into text you edit and send  | To OpenAI’s models; kept with the chat               |
| ChatGPT Voice            | A live spoken conversation, on paid plans | To OpenAI                                            |
| Mac Dictation            | Types into the composer                   | On the Mac or at Apple; Keyboard settings says which |
| Flit                     | Types finished text into the composer     | Stays on the Mac                                     |

## Dictation is not Voice

[OpenAI’s help page](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001274-chatgpt-voice) separates them: use ChatGPT Dictation when you want to record a prompt, review and edit its transcription, and then send it as text. Voice is for talking with ChatGPT and hearing it answer.

In the desktop app, Voice is started with Start voice chat, and [OpenAI lists it](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/features/voice) for the Plus, Pro, Business, Edu and Enterprise plans. Dictation is not limited in that way: a June 2026 release note describes a new speech-to-text model for dictation rolling out across all plans.

## What happens to the audio

[OpenAI’s voice dictation page](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12168547-voice-dictation-faq) answers this directly.

- The recorded audio is sent to OpenAI’s models to be transcribed, and the transcription comes back as text you can edit.
- The audio is retained for as long as the chat is part of your chat history.
- When you delete the chat, the audio clip is deleted within 30 days, unless OpenAI needs to keep it for security or legal reasons, or you had shared your audio for training.
- If you are a consumer user and have chosen to share audio to improve the models, OpenAI may train on dictation audio. Business users’ inputs are not trained on by default.

## Two Mac apps since July 2026

There are now two. The new ChatGPT desktop app holds Chat, Work and Codex. The app that was called ChatGPT for Mac before July 2026 is now ChatGPT Classic, as [OpenAI’s page on the move](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001276-moving-to-the-new-chatgpt-desktop-app) explains.

Much of what is written about dictating to ChatGPT on a Mac, on OpenAI’s own help pages too, does not say which app it means. The Dictate button in the composer is documented for the new app. The same button serves Codex; [the Codex guide](https://flit.fyi/dictate-to-codex) covers that side.

## Shortcuts, and one that collides

OpenAI’s shortcut reference for the desktop app lists no key for dictation; you select the button. Voice chat has one, Control-Shift-V.

One shortcut matters if you use a dictation app as well. [OpenAI’s Chat Bar page](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9295241-how-to-launch-the-chat-bar) says that by default Option-Space opens the Chat Bar, and that you can change it in Settings. If your dictation shortcut is also Option-Space, one of them has to move.

## Using the Mac’s Dictation

Apple’s Dictation types into the composer like any other text field: click in, and press your Dictation shortcut. Keyboard settings tells you whether your dictation is processed on the Mac. [How to dictate on a Mac](https://flit.fyi/how-to-dictate-on-mac) has the steps.

## Dictating to ChatGPT with Flit

Flit turns your speech into text on the Mac and types it into the composer. ChatGPT receives the words you chose to send, and no recording.

- Hold a key, speak, let go. The same gesture in ChatGPT, your browser, your editor and your mail.
- Finished text: punctuation, paragraphs and lists, with hesitations and false starts taken out.
- The audio is transcribed on the Mac and is not sent anywhere, so there is no recording to retain or delete.
- A personal dictionary for your names and terms.
- It works the same way at chatgpt.com in a browser.
- Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.

Good to know

- The text you send is still sent to OpenAI, as with anything you type. Flit keeps the audio on your Mac, not the prompt.
- If your Flit shortcut is Option-Space, it collides with ChatGPT’s Chat Bar. Change one of them.
- Flit runs on a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later, and its voice model is a download of about 0.5 to 2.3 GB that you choose once.
- Flit types what you say. It does not talk back, read answers aloud or hold a spoken conversation with the tool.
- Recognizing your project’s file names, and Flit’s spoken commands, work in English today.

[Download for Mac](https://flit.fyi/download) macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon

## Questions people ask

### How do I use voice to text in ChatGPT on a Mac?

In the ChatGPT desktop app, click into the composer, select Dictate, and start talking. The transcription appears in the composer for you to edit and send.

### Is ChatGPT dictation free?

A June 2026 release note from OpenAI describes its dictation model rolling out across all plans. ChatGPT Voice, the spoken conversation, is listed for paid plans in the desktop app.

### Does ChatGPT save my dictation audio?

Yes. OpenAI says audio from dictation is retained for as long as the chat is part of your chat history, and deleted within 30 days of your deleting the chat, with exceptions.

### What is the difference between ChatGPT Voice and dictation?

Dictation turns your speech into text that you review, edit and send. Voice is a live spoken conversation in which ChatGPT answers aloud.

### What is the keyboard shortcut for dictation in ChatGPT on a Mac?

OpenAI’s shortcut reference lists none for dictation. Voice chat is Control-Shift-V, and Option-Space opens the Chat Bar by default.

### Is there a way to dictate to ChatGPT without sending audio to OpenAI?

Yes. Flit is a local dictation app for Mac that transcribes on the Mac and types the text into ChatGPT, so only the words you send leave your computer. Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.

## In the glossary

- [On-device processing](https://flit.fyi/glossary/on-device-processing)
- [Dictation](https://flit.fyi/glossary/dictation)
- [Formatting pass](https://flit.fyi/glossary/formatting-pass)
- [Disfluency](https://flit.fyi/glossary/disfluency)
- [Personal dictionary](https://flit.fyi/glossary/personal-dictionary)

## More guides

- [Claude Code voice dictation](https://flit.fyi/dictate-to-claude-code)
- [Cursor voice input](https://flit.fyi/dictate-to-cursor)
- [Codex voice and dictation](https://flit.fyi/dictate-to-codex)
- [How to dictate on a Mac](https://flit.fyi/how-to-dictate-on-mac)
- [Mac dictation not working](https://flit.fyi/mac-dictation-not-working)
- [Globe key opens the emoji picker](https://flit.fyi/globe-key-opens-emoji-picker-mac)
- [Mac dictation keeps stopping](https://flit.fyi/mac-dictation-keeps-stopping)
- [Mac dictation commands](https://flit.fyi/mac-dictation-commands)