# Voice Dictation

When typing slows you down, you can speak instead. Alfred Scholar's voice dictation, powered by the Bolo engine, turns speech into text you can read, edit, and then use. It works in two places: Ask Alfred and the manuscript editor.

Dictation is a transcription step, not a command to Alfred. It inserts your words as plain text and stops there. You stay in control of what happens next: you review the text, edit it if needed, and only then send the message or keep writing.

## Where it works

- **Ask Alfred.** A microphone button sits next to the chat input. Use it to speak a question instead of typing it.
- **Manuscript editor.** Dictate directly at your cursor while drafting, so you can talk through a paragraph and keep writing.

## Language

Voice dictation supports **English**.

## How to dictate

1. Place your cursor where the text should go: the chat input, or a point in your manuscript.
2. Click the **microphone** button to start listening.
3. Speak clearly and at a natural pace.
4. Click the button again to stop.

The transcribed text appears inline. You can edit it like any other text before you do anything with it.

## Clean mode

Clean mode is an optional pass that tidies your transcript as it comes in. It removes filler words (such as "um" and "you know") and fixes punctuation, so the result reads closer to written prose than to raw speech.

Clean mode is well suited to **manuscript writing**, where you want dictated sentences to land as clean drafts rather than verbatim transcripts. Turn it off when you want the exact words you spoke.

## Review before you send

Because dictation only inserts text, nothing is sent or saved as a message on your behalf.

- **In chat**, the dictated question waits in the input box. Read it, correct any misheard words, then press **Send** yourself. Transcription does not use your daily message quota; a dictated message counts only when you send it, exactly like a typed one.
- **In the manuscript editor**, dictated text becomes part of your draft and auto-saves like anything else you type.

## Requirements

- Voice dictation needs microphone access. Your browser will ask for permission the first time you use it.
- A quiet environment and a clear speaking pace give the most accurate transcripts.

## Next steps

- **[Chat with your documents](/docs/v1.x/chat-with-documents)** - Ask a dictated question about your papers.
- **[Write a manuscript](/docs/v1.x/writing-manuscripts)** - Dictate a first draft at your cursor.