Open your document, put the cursor where the next paragraph goes, say a word, and start talking — Clavio turns what you say into finished, formal prose and sets it straight onto the page. It doesn’t echo you back word for word; it composes: commas and full stops in the right places, capitals where they belong, the “um”s and false starts gone, in a measured register that reads like a document rather than a voice memo. You speak whole paragraphs at the pace you think, and a clean draft appears — and the same voice that writes the report writes the email that sends it.
Say the word — or tap a key — and start drafting
Clavio gives you two hands-free ways into a Word document, and you choose per app. Set a wake word for Word and simply say it — “Draft,” or whatever you pick — then speak; nothing to hold, nothing to click, your hands free for your notes or your coffee. Prefer a deliberate trigger? Assign a shortcut and press it once to begin and once to finish. Either way you’re not hunting for a ribbon button or a function-key setting — you summon Clavio the same way with your document in front, and finished text lands at the cursor. For a long report you’ll likely reach for the wake word; for the odd paragraph, the shortcut. Both leave the writing to your voice.
A formal register, composed for you — not a raw transcript
A document isn’t a chat message, so Clavio’s polish for Word is set to formal. It doesn’t paste back your exact words with every restart and aside; it composes them into measured, document-ready prose — full sentences, considered phrasing, the contractions and throwaway remarks smoothed into something you’d be happy to submit. Punctuation and capitalization are handled as it writes, so you never say “comma” or “new paragraph” out loud. Dictate a proposal, a cover letter, a chapter, or a client report, and what reaches the page already reads like writing rather than talking. If one piece wants a lighter touch, you can ease the polish down for that window — but formal is the register most Word work asks for.
Speak whole paragraphs and let Clavio shape them
You don’t have to feed it a sentence at a time. Think out loud for a full paragraph — or three — and Clavio takes in the whole stretch, then punctuates it, breaks it into clean sentences, and lays it down as structured prose. Because auto-send stays off in Word, it never presses Enter for you: the text simply appears at the cursor and waits, so you decide where one paragraph ends and the next begins, and you can place the cursor for the next thought before you speak again. Add the names that matter — people, companies, products, the terms of your field — to Clavio’s dictionary, and “Contoso,” a client’s surname, or a piece of legal Latin come through spelled right every time, not guessed from the sound.
One voice from the first draft to the email that sends it
The document is rarely the end of the job. When the report is written, switch to your mail app and dictate the covering note — and because Clavio remembers a tone per app, it eases into a warmer, more natural register there while Word stays formal. Drop a comment for a colleague, fire a quick line into Teams or a browser form, jot the next revision — the same wake word carries you through all of it, each app in the voice it should have. And since Clavio only answers to your enrolled voice, a meeting happening beside you never nudges a stray sentence into your document. One dictation habit writes the whole thing — the draft, the note, the reply — instead of one button that only lives inside Word.
Recommended Clavio settings for Microsoft Word
| Setting | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Activation (per app) | Wake word or a shortcut | Say a word to start hands-free, or press one key — either way you summon it with your document in front, no ribbon button to find. |
| Polish level | Formal | Composes your speech into measured, document-ready prose instead of a verbatim transcript — the register most Word writing wants. |
| Auto-send | Off | Never presses Enter for you, so you decide where every paragraph breaks and keep composing at your own pace. |
| Personal dictionary | Add your names and terms | Keeps proper nouns, companies, and field-specific words — Contoso, client names, legal Latin — spelled right instead of guessed. |
| Max dictation length | Generous | Word drafts run long, so a raised capture cap lets you speak a whole paragraph, or several, in one go without it cutting off mid-thought. |
Draft in Word with your voice
Clavio is an AI dictation app for Mac. It sits in your menu bar and drops finished, punctuated text wherever your cursor is — your Word document, the email that sends it, Teams, a browser form. You give Word a wake word or a shortcut, and set the polish to formal so a spoken paragraph lands as measured, document-ready prose; auto-send stays off so you keep control of every paragraph break. A personal dictionary keeps names and terms spelled right, and an on-device voiceprint means only your voice sets it off. Free to try: 3,000 words a month, no card, macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon. Pro is £12/month for unlimited.
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Common questions
How is this different from Word’s own Dictate button?
Word has a built-in Dictate button, and macOS has its own system-wide dictation too — both work, but each has a catch. Word’s asks for a Microsoft 365 subscription and an internet connection and only runs inside Word; Apple’s types you back word for word and expects you to say “comma” and “new paragraph” out loud. Clavio composes your speech into a formal, already-punctuated draft, works the same in Word and every other app, and doesn’t need a 365 plan. One voice for everything you write.
Can I dictate into Word fully hands-free?
Yes. Give Word a wake word, say it, and speak your paragraph — nothing to hold, click, or reach for. We keep auto-send off in Word on purpose, so Clavio never presses Enter for you; that isn’t less hands-free, it just means you decide where each paragraph ends rather than the app guessing. Starting and dictating stay entirely voice-driven.
Will it change what I meant or misspell names?
The formal polish tidies your phrasing and punctuation, but it keeps your meaning — it’s composing your draft, not rewriting your argument. To keep proper nouns exact, add the names and terms you use — people, companies, products, field-specific words — to Clavio’s dictionary, and they come through spelled correctly every time instead of guessed from the sound.
Can I dictate a whole paragraph at once instead of sentence by sentence?
Yes — that’s the point of using it for Word. Speak a full paragraph, or several, and Clavio takes the whole stretch, punctuates it, splits it into clean sentences, and lays it down as structured prose. Raise the capture length in settings for long drafting sessions, and you can think out loud without it cutting off mid-thought.
Does it only work inside Word?
No — that’s the main reason to use a menu-bar app instead of Word’s own button. Clavio types into your document, the email that sends it, Teams, a browser form, or anywhere your cursor sits, and remembers a tone per app: formal for the Word document, warmer for the covering email, casual for a chat. One wake word covers the whole job, from first draft to the message that delivers it.