"Zoom dictation" can mean two things:
- Voice typing into Zoom chat: you speak and text appears where your cursor is.
- Captions/transcription for the meeting: Zoom generates text for what's being said in the call (if enabled/available).
A) Dictate into Zoom chat (speech-to-text)
The fastest approach on macOS is to use system-wide Dictation (or Voice Type). It works inside the Zoom app anywhere you can type.
- Enable Dictation: System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation → On.
- Open Zoom and click into the chat input field.
- Start Dictation (microphone key, or your Dictation shortcut — often Fn twice).
- Speak, then stop Dictation to insert the text.
B) Captions / transcription (meeting feature)
Zoom also has captioning/transcription features (availability depends on account settings and meeting configuration). If your goal is "turn the meeting audio into text", look for Zoom's automated captions/live transcription settings.
Troubleshooting (mic permissions)
- Confirm Zoom has mic access (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone).
- Test mic input in System Settings → Sound.
- If Dictation doesn't start anywhere, use: Dictation not working on Mac.
If you dictate daily across apps
If you want a consistent hold‑to‑dictate hotkey across Zoom, Slack, email, and docs — with on-device processing — try Voice Type.