If you’ve ever tried using your voice in Windows, you might have noticed there are two tools that sound similar but work quite differently: Voice Typing and Voice Access. Many people are confused about what each one does, whether they overlap, and which one they should be using.
The truth is, they’re designed for different things. Voice Typing is the quick and simple way to turn your speech into text, while Voice Access is the more powerful option that lets you control your entire computer by voice. Both are incredibly useful, but only if you know how to set them up and what to expect from each.
In this post, I’ll walk you through both tools, how to get started with them for the first time, the essential keyboard shortcuts and commands, and how to decide which one makes the most sense for you.
Voice Typing: quick and easy speech-to-text
Let’s start with the simpler of the two: Voice Typing. This tool is built right into Windows and focuses on one job, turning your speech into text. It doesn’t control your computer or open programs; it just types what you say into any text field.
Some of my customers use Voice Typing when they want to quickly write an email, jot down notes, or draft a document without touching the keyboard. It’s lightweight, accurate (especially with an internet connection), and requires almost no setup. Voice Typing is best when you want to dictate text quickly and don’t need to interact with anything beyond the text field itself.
How to set up and use Voice Typing for the first time
Place your cursor in any text field. This could be a Word document, an email, a search box, or a form.
Press WINDOWS+H to launch Voice Typing.
A small toolbar will appear near the top of the screen indicating it’s listening.
If you’re using a screen reader, you’ll hear a tone and an announcement that Voice Typing is ready.
Start speaking naturally. Your words will appear wherever the cursor is.
To stop dictation, press WINDOWS+H again, or try simply pressing CONTROL, which my customers find is a faster way to stop dictation even though it’s not officially documented.
You may choose to enable Online Speech Recognition, though it isn’t required for the use of Voice Typing:
Press WINDOWS+I to open Settings.
Navigate to Privacy and security, Speech, under Windows Permissions.
Turn on Online speech recognition.
This allows Windows to use Microsoft’s cloud-based models for better accuracy.
Voice Typing keyboard shortcuts
WINDOWS+H, start or stop Voice Typing.
CONTROL, stop Voice Typing (unofficial but fast).
Useful Voice Typing commands
While Voice Typing doesn’t control your computer, it does understand punctuation and basic editing commands. Try speaking the following examples:
Period, inserts a period.
Comma, inserts a comma.
Question mark, inserts a question mark.
New line, starts a new line.
Delete that, removes the last dictated text.
Voice Access: full control of your PC by voice
Now let’s move to the more powerful option: Voice Access. This is Microsoft’s modern, accessibility-focused voice control system introduced in Windows 11 (starting with version 22H2). It goes far beyond dictation, letting you control your entire computer by voice.
With Voice Access, you can open and switch between apps, click buttons, press keys, scroll pages, and even create custom voice shortcuts. It’s designed to replace the older Windows Speech Recognition tool and offers a much smoother experience. Also, because Voice Access includes dictation, you can dictate text in any field without switching modes, making it a more complete solution than Voice Typing when you want both control and text input. Best of all, once it’s set up, it works offline. Some of my customers who want a fully voice-driven experience, especially those who benefit from accessibility features, prefer Voice Access as their daily driver.
How to set up Voice Access for the first time
Voice Access isn’t enabled by default, so you’ll need to turn it on before you can use it. Here’s how:
Press WINDOWS+U to open the Accessibility settings.
Navigate to Speech, under Interaction.
Choose Voice Access and toggle the switch to On.
The first time you enable it, Windows will download a speech model. Once that’s done, you’re ready to go. No additional software is needed.
Now you can turn Voice Access on and off at any time by pressing WINDOWS+CONTROL+S. When Voice Access is active, a small control bar will appear at the top of the screen. Once it’s on, use ALT+SHIFT+C to toggle the microphone between Active and Off, and when active, use ALT+SHIFT+B to toggle the microphone between Sleep and Active.
Voice Access keyboard shortcuts
WINDOWS+CONTROL+S, turn Voice Access on or off.
ALT+SHIFT+C, toggle the microphone between Active and Off.
ALT+SHIFT+B, toggle the microphone between Sleep and Active.
Voice Access commands
Voice Access supports a wide range of commands, from controlling apps to simulating keyboard actions. Here are just a few examples:
Press followed by a key name, simulates pressing a specific key. For example, Press Enter.
Press followed by a key name and a number of times, repeats a key press. For example, Press Tab three times.
Press and hold followed by a key name, holds modifier keys like Shift or Control. Release followed by a key name lets go.
Click followed by a button name, clicks a button by name.
Dismiss, acts like pressing Escape.
What can I say, opens a full list of available commands.
Open voice shortcuts, opens the shortcut manager.
Scroll down or Scroll up, scrolls the page.
Switch to followed by an app name, changes the active window.
Word recognition can be improved by adding difficult words to your vocabulary anywhere with the command Add to Vocabulary. Use the command immediately after correcting or spelling a word to instantly add it. You can also create Voice shortcuts for actions like pasting predefined text and media, or even performing a sequence of actions. Simply say Create Shortcut to get started.
Voice Access vs. Voice Typing: which one should you use?
Choose Voice Typing if your main goal is to speak text into documents, emails, or forms quickly and easily. It’s lightweight, fast, and requires almost no setup.
Choose Voice Access if you want complete control of your computer. It lets you launch apps, switch windows, click buttons, and dictate text all in one place.
Voice Typing is a great way to start using your voice in Windows, but Voice Access is where the real power lies when you want to go beyond text and start controlling your PC hands-free.
FAQ
Can I use Voice Access and Voice Typing at the same time?
They serve different roles, but you would typically use one or the other. Voice Access already includes dictation, so if you have Voice Access running, you don’t need to launch Voice Typing separately.
Does Voice Access work offline?
Yes. Once you download the speech model during initial setup, Voice Access works offline. Voice Typing can also work offline, but accuracy improves with Online Speech Recognition enabled.
Do I need Windows 11 for these tools?
Voice Access requires Windows 11 version 22H2 or later. Voice Typing is available in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Can I use Voice Access with a screen reader?
Yes. Voice Access is designed with accessibility in mind and works alongside screen readers like JAWS and NVDA.
What replaced Windows Speech Recognition?
Voice Access is Microsoft’s modern replacement for the older Windows Speech Recognition system.
Conclusion
Both tools have a place. If you just need to get words on the screen, Voice Typing gets you there fast. If you want to run your whole PC by voice, Voice Access is the one to learn. Either way, you now have the shortcuts and the setup steps to get going.
Resources
Set up voice access (Microsoft Support)
Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC (Microsoft Support)
Use a screen reader to dictate a document in Word (Microsoft Support)
Qapla!
Thanks for your kind words. I love the feedback, and maybe I’ll do a part 2…
thanks again!
This is a glorious explanation of Voice Typing and Voice Access. It ought to be circulated in all kinds of places and the author praised extensively for something close to heroic work. This is both concise and comprehensive.
If you ever do a revision, and I am in no way suggesting that it’s necessary, you might consider a small section that focuses on using Voice Access to change styles in a Word document. Because I am a screen reader user, I am familiar with the keystrokes necessary to implement things like heading level designations. For example, if I want a line of text to appear as a heading level two, I learned yesterday that I could say “Press Control Alt 2″ And speak my text. At the end of the text I want designated as a heading two, I then said the words “new line, new line.” When I dictated the next series of words, I noted they had returned to the Normal style–just what I would have hoped for.
Please don’t take the above as a criticism of something missing. It’s not intended that way. This is a brilliant document the author clearly thought through carefully. I don’t see any telltale signs of AI word patterns/terminology in here, which leads me to believe that either the AI in use is better than average or the author didn’t use AI at all to write this. It’s a praiseworthy document by every measure. Oh, and hey, I used Voice Typing to craft my little comment–way to inspire me!