Air vs Mac Dictation — AI Voice-to-Text That Takes Action
Mac's built-in dictation is convenient, but it's just a transcription tool. Air is an AI assistant that understands context and takes action.
TL;DR
Mac Dictation is a basic speech-to-text tool built into macOS. Press Fn twice, speak, and your words appear as text. It's free and works offline, but that's about it.
Air is an AI-powered assistant that goes far beyond dictation. It reads your screen, understands context, and can execute actions like sending messages or creating events. It's the difference between a transcriptionist and a smart assistant.
How to send a message with Air
- Hold the right Option key to open Air and start listening.
- Say, “Send Sarah the meeting notes from yesterday.”
- Air reads your screen, opens Messages, finds Sarah, and drafts the message with notes.
- Review and send, or let Air auto-send based on your settings.
You can follow the same steps for other actions—calendar events, files, and more—just hold Option and speak naturally.
Why Air beats built-in Dictation
AI That Understands You
Mac Dictation just converts speech to text. Air understands what you're trying to do and helps you do it faster.
Actions, Not Just Words
Say 'send Sarah the meeting notes' and Air actually does it. Mac Dictation would just type those words.
Works Everywhere Better
Both work in text fields, but Air handles punctuation, formatting, and natural speech far more accurately.
Privacy You Can Trust
We never sell your data or use it for training. Your voice stays private, with local processing coming soon.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Transcription Quality
Intelligence
Actions & Integration
User Experience
Privacy
See the difference
Here's what happens when you say the same thing to each tool.
That's it. You still have to manually send the message.
When to use which
Both tools have their place. Here's when each makes sense.
Use Mac Dictation for...
- • Quick notes when offline
- • Simple text in a single field
- • When you need zero setup
- • Short phrases without punctuation needs
Use Air for...
- • Longer dictation with proper formatting
- • When you want actions, not just text
- • Context-aware assistance
- • Multi-step productivity tasks
- • Professional writing with auto-punctuation
- • Anything beyond basic transcription
More comparisons
See how Air stacks up against other voice and AI tools for Mac.
Air vs Siri
Screen-aware AI copilot vs Apple's built-in assistant.
Air vs ChatGPT Desktop
Native Mac integration vs conversational AI assistant.
Learn more about voice-to-text on Mac or explore real-time transcription.
Ready for more than dictation?
Try Air free and experience the difference between a transcription tool and an AI assistant that actually helps you work.
Download Air FreeFree tier includes 50 requests/week. See Pro plans