Potok transcribes Russian speech; this site has been translated into English for convenience.
Google Slides has voice input, but only for speaker notes and captions, through the menu Tools → Dictate speaker notes. Text on the slide itself, a title, a block, a table, cannot be dictated with this function. To insert text by voice anywhere on a slide, Potok (potok.now) fits, with a response time of about 0.4 seconds.
Google Slides can accept voice, but not where it is most often looked for. Let us see what exactly the built-in Slides dictation recognizes and how to dictate text straight onto a slide, and not only into the speaker notes.
Does Google Slides have its own dictation
Yes, but with a significant limitation. Google Slides can recognize speech only for speaker notes and captions; you can turn it on through the menu Tools → Dictate speaker notes. According to Google's official help, voice can be used “to type and edit in Google Docs and speaker notes and captions in Google Slides”, which means that in Slides itself voice input works only in notes and captions, and not in text blocks, titles or tables on a slide. If you need to dictate the slide text itself, for example a title or a list item, the built-in function does not fit: it is designed only for the notes that the speaker sees during the presentation, and for captions.
| What is available | |
|---|---|
| Built-in dictation | yes: Only for speaker notes and captions, NOT for text on the slide itself: Tools → Dictate speaker notes. |
| Text insertion | yes |
| Platforms | Web |
| Potok | hold the key, speak, release: the text lands in the field under the cursor |
How to dictate text in Google Slides through Potok
To dictate text straight into a text block, a title or a table on a slide, and not only into the speaker notes, you can use a separate voice input program, for example Potok:
- Put the cursor in a text block, a title or a table cell on a Google Slides slide.
- Hold the Potok hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default) and speak while the key is held.
- Release the key: the recognized text appears in the same place where the cursor was, and punctuation and capital letters are placed automatically.
- If the Ctrl+Space combination is taken by the browser or an extension, change the hotkey in the Potok settings; you can choose a ready combination, your own key or a side mouse button.
If you need specifically speaker notes, the built-in Google Slides function fits for them too; switching between the tools is not required, and both ways work in one document. How dictation works in a neighboring service is in the article about voice input in Google Docs.
Where voice input in Google Slides will not work
Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia; it does not work without the internet, like the browser version of Google Slides itself. Potok has no voice commands for editing text: it inserts dictated speech, and it has to be edited by hand after dictation. There are no mobile apps either, only a desktop version for Windows, macOS and Linux. For those who need only speaker notes or captions, the built-in Google Slides function is enough; an overview of dictation in other programs is in the article about voice input in apps.
Frequently asked questions
No. According to Google's official help, the built-in Slides dictation works only for speaker notes and captions. It does not recognize text in text blocks, titles and tables on the slide itself.
Voice input is converting speech to text on the fly: the user speaks, and the program transcribes the sound with speech recognition technology (ASR) and inserts the resulting text into the active field, such as email, a messenger or a document. In Potok this works through a hotkey: hold it, speak, release, and the text is inserted.
Dictation is especially useful for long texts written off the cuff: drafts of emails, notes, replies in messengers, lecture notes, and also when your hands are busy or tired (for example, with RSI). For short precise edits (one-word commands, code) typing is often faster.
Built-in system tools (Win+H in Windows, Dictation in macOS, Voice Typing in Google Docs, Gboard on Android), voice browser extensions, and also specialized desktop and web services (Potok and analogs) that work over any app through a hotkey.
Yes: Windows has built-in voice input by Win+H (Russian only in Windows 11, Windows 10 has no Russian; it does not work without the internet), and on a Mac there is system dictation in the keyboard settings. Both are free.
Any microphone that the system sees as a recording device will do. In Potok you select it in the app settings or in the tray icon menu; system access to the microphone is required.
Download Potok
Works with a single key in any program. 14 days of full access, then Free with 2500 words per week or Pro at 690 ₽/mo (499 ₽/mo paid yearly). Potok is a cloud service: speech is recognized on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokA voice message from a messenger or a call recording can be forwarded to the bot @potok_now_bot, and it sends back the text. The bot is part of the same subscription as the Potok app.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: slides.google.com · support.google.com · support.google.com