If you've never used voice typing before, you might assume it requires fiddling with audio drivers, training the software on your voice, or learning some special way of speaking. None of that is true any more. Modern dictation software is closer to using a keyboard than to programming a robot — you press a key, you talk, words appear.
This guide is for absolute beginners: people who haven't dictated before, aren't especially comfortable with installers and settings, and just want the shortest possible path from "interested" to "actually using it." If you're on Windows 10 or 11, have a microphone (any microphone — laptop built-in is fine to start), and five minutes, you're set.
What you need before you start
- A Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC.
- A microphone. Your laptop's built-in mic is fine for now. If you have a headset or USB mic lying around, even better.
- An internet connection for the download only. After that, PeekoType doesn't need internet — it runs entirely on your PC.
- About 5 minutes.
You do not need: a special microphone, a fast PC, admin rights for most installs, technical skills, or to train the software on your voice.
The five steps
Download and install PeekoType
Go to the PeekoType homepage and click "Start 14-Day Free Trial." The installer is a normal Windows .exe — double-click it, click Next a couple of times, and you're done. Total time: about a minute, including the download.
Open PeekoType and pick your language
When the app first launches, it shows a language picker. Scroll to your language and select it. PeekoType supports 99+ languages — English (UK, US, AU, IE), Spanish (Spain, Latin America), French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, Swahili, and many more.
You can change this any time. If you regularly write in more than one language, see our multilingual voice typing guide for tips on switching mid-document.
Choose a hotkey
A hotkey is the keyboard shortcut that starts and stops dictation. The default is F9. If you use F9 for something else, you can change it in settings to any free key or combination — many people pick a side button on their mouse, or the Right Alt key.
Test your microphone with a short sentence
Open Notepad (or any text editor — Word, your email, a chat window, anything). Click into the typing area so your cursor is blinking. Press your hotkey, say something short like "this is a test of voice typing," and press the hotkey again to stop.
You should see the text appear where your cursor was. Punctuation is added automatically.
If nothing appears: open Windows Settings → Sound → Input, and make sure the correct microphone is selected as the default. That fixes about 90% of "it's not working" issues.
Dictate your first email
Open your email app. Click in the body. Press your hotkey. Talk like you're explaining something to a colleague. Press the hotkey again when you're done.
Don't overthink your delivery. Speak normally — at conversational speed, in your normal accent. PeekoType handles UK, US, Indian, Australian, South African, Caribbean, and most other English accents, plus accented English from native speakers of other languages.
Common beginner questions
Do I need to say "comma" and "full stop"?
No. PeekoType punctuates automatically based on your sentence rhythm. You can dictate punctuation if you want exact control, but for most use cases the auto-punctuation gets it right.
Can I edit what I dictated by speaking?
Not by voice — once the text is in the field, it's just normal text. You can edit with your keyboard and mouse, undo with Ctrl+Z, or dictate over the top by clicking somewhere new. Most people dictate first, then clean up with the keyboard once they're done. It's faster than trying to dictate edits.
Why does it sometimes mis-hear a name or technical term?
Names, place names, abbreviations, and very domain-specific terminology are the hardest things for any speech model. The fix is usually to either spell out the tricky word ("J-A-V-I-E-R") or just type those few words by hand. For everyday writing it almost never comes up.
Will it work if my room is noisy?
Mostly yes, but the noisier the environment, the more it benefits from a headset. The built-in laptop mic is fine for a quiet home office. If you're in a coffee shop or an open-plan office, plug something in.
What if I have a strong accent or speak softly?
Whisper (the model PeekoType uses) was trained on a massive amount of accented English and is genuinely good at handling regional variation. Speak normally — don't over-articulate, don't try to "sound American," don't slow down. If you speak softly, move closer to the mic or use a headset; the model is sensitive to volume, not accent.
What if I'm not a native English speaker?
You have two options. Dictate in your native language (PeekoType supports 99+), or dictate in English at your normal speaking pace — both work well. Many non-native English speakers find dictation actually easier than typing in English, because speaking is closer to how they think. Our guide for international teams covers this in more depth.
What to do next
Once you've done your first email, the next useful thing is to use it for whatever you write most: messages, documents, code comments, support tickets, your daily journal. The first day will feel slow because you'll keep noticing it. By day three it stops feeling new. By the end of week one most people don't go back to keyboard-first.
If you're a writer, the voice typing for writers guide has workflow tips that compound nicely once the basics feel natural. If you're more interested in how PeekoType compares to alternatives, see our round-up of every voice-to-text app.