How to Use Voice Typing (Speech to Text) on Any Website
Use Helperbird Voice typing, choose a language, control spoken punctuation, and copy, listen to, or print your draft.
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What is Voice Typing?
Speak into your microphone and collect a draft in Helperbird's text box. Voice typing needs Helperbird Pro, microphone access and an internet connection.
Step 1: Open Helperbird
Click the Helperbird owl in your browser toolbar.
Step 2: Go to the All Features Section
Expand All Features.
Step 3: Find Voice Typing
Open Voice typing. The window has a text box, Grammar, a microphone and Options. Opening it does not start recording.
Step 4: Select Your Language
- Open Options beside the microphone.
- Choose Voice typing settings. Settings opens in a new tab or switches to your open Settings tab.
- Open Select a language.
- Choose the language you will speak. Your choice saves automatically.
- Return to your Voice typing window.
Voice typing settings also contains Mode, Spoken punctuation and Voice typing into the page.
Step 5: Start Speaking
- Press the microphone.
- Allow microphone access if your browser asks.
- Speak your words.
- Press the microphone again to stop.
Recording also stops after 10 seconds without recognized speech. Your draft stays in place. Press the microphone again to continue.
Step 6: Use Your Text
Open Options, the sliders button beside the microphone.
- Copy copies your draft.
- Listen opens the draft in Text to speech.
- Print opens a printable copy.
- Clear asks before removing your draft. Cancel keeps it.
- Voice typing settings opens the settings page.
View full-size image (opens in a new tab)
The four text actions are unavailable until your draft has words. Grammar checks your draft when you are not recording.
With a keyboard, open Options with Enter or Space. Use the Up and Down arrows to move through its items. Home and End jump to the first and last item. Escape closes the menu.
Type Directly into a Field
Turn on Voice typing into the page in Settings → Voice typing, then use the microphone on the floating toolbar. This is a Beta feature. The window opened from the Helperbird menu keeps writing into its own draft box.
Follow dictating into the page for the full steps. For notes beside a PDF, use its Notepad.
Troubleshooting
No words appear: check your microphone, internet connection and Pro access. Settings shows whether Helperbird's microphone is blocked or missing. A website can also block its own microphone access.
Your school blocks the microphone: ask your IT team to allow it. Refreshing the page does not change a school policy.
Language or mode did not change during recording: stop and start the microphone. New choices apply to the next recording.
Spoken punctuation is missing: choose Regular under Mode in Settings. The other modes handle notation separately.
You need to keep the draft: copy it into your document before leaving the page or closing the browser.
Need Additional Help?
Contact Helperbird support with your browser, Helperbird version and what happened.
Printed from the Helperbird Help Center · Updated October 26th, 2026
Questions? We are happy to help — helperbird.com/support