Freelancers and agencies can use dictation for most of the writing around client work: emails, proposal sections, creative briefs, weekly status updates and invoice descriptions. The free Dictation on every Mac is enough to start. Two rules keep it safe: know where your audio and text go before you dictate anything a client NDA covers, and check every amount, name, date and promise before a message leaves your hands. On a client's own systems, their rules apply, and some clients will not allow a dictation tool at all.
Which client work suits dictation?
| Task | Why it suits voice | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Client emails | Explaining and reassuring are easier said than typed | Recipient, names, dates |
| Proposal sections | "Our understanding" and "approach" are things you explain aloud often | Prices, scope, timelines |
| Creative or project briefs | Talking through the goal and audience is fast | Deliverables, deadlines, brand names |
| Weekly status updates | Done, next, blocked: a fixed shape | Dates, percentages, owners |
| Invoice descriptions | A sentence about the work delivered | Amounts, PO and invoice numbers |
| Meeting follow-ups | Fresh while you remember | Who agreed to what |
How do you start?
Apple's Dictation guide (macOS 27 edition) says to turn on Dictation under System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation, then press the Microphone key, use your Dictation shortcut, or choose Edit → Start Dictation. Apple says you can "speak to enter text anywhere you can type it," and that in supported languages it adds commas, periods and question marks for you. If your screen differs, search System Settings for "Dictation". See How to use voice to text on a Mac.
Client NDAs: where do the audio and text go?
Your NDA or contract is what counts. Read its confidentiality clause for who may receive client information, whether service providers count as recipients, and where information may be stored. Then trace your dictation path:
| Step | Question |
|---|---|
| Audio | Is speech recognised on your Mac or sent to a server? |
| AI cleanup | Does any formatting or rewriting step send the text to another company? |
| Local copies | Does the tool keep a history of what you dictated? |
| Destination | Which app receives the text, and who else can see it there? |
For Apple Dictation, Apple says you can check Keyboard settings "to see whether your voice inputs and transcripts for general text Dictation (for example, composing messages and notes, but not dictating in a search box) are processed on your device and not sent to Siri servers." For any other tool, read its settings and privacy page. The US Federal Trade Commission's guide for business advises that before you hand a function to an outside company you "investigate the company's data security practices and compare their standards to yours." A client applying that test to you will ask the same of your tools. Where does my dictation go? and Local versus cloud formatting go further.
Also mind who can hear you. Speaking a client's name or unreleased campaign aloud in a co-working space is a disclosure; see Dictating in an open office.
When is a dictation tool not allowed on a client's systems?
Assume you need permission whenever you work inside a client's environment:
- A laptop the client issued you. Their IT team decides what may be installed. Do not install a dictation app without asking.
- Remote desktops and virtual machines. Text insertion from a tool on your own Mac may not work reliably there, and the client's rules may forbid moving text in or out.
- The client's chat, ticketing or document tools. Their acceptable-use or AI policy may cover dictation that sends text to a third party.
- Engagements with an AI ban. If your dictation path includes an AI rewriting step, the ban may cover it.
On your own Mac you can see which apps may use the microphone: Apple's microphone privacy page says to open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and "turn access to the microphone on or off for each app in the list." When in doubt, ask the client in writing before you start.
Review checklist before you send
Dictation errors look like real words, so read every client message once for these alone:
- Amounts: fees, rates, totals and currency.
- Names: the client's people, brand and product names, spelled their way.
- Dates: deadlines, launch dates and meeting times.
- Commitments: every "we will", "by Friday", "included" and "unlimited". A promise you did not mean to make is the costliest dictation error.
- Negations: "not", "no" and "never", which can drop out or appear.
- Scope: what is excluded, as well as what is included.
- Attachments and links: pasted, not dictated, and actually attached.
A weekly routine
- Monday morning: dictate the week's plan to each client as a short email draft. Check dates before sending.
- After every call: spend five minutes dictating a follow-up: what was agreed, who owns what, by when. See Dictate meeting action items by voice.
- Proposal days: type the outline and pricing table, dictate the narrative sections, then run the checklist above.
- Friday: dictate status updates in three headings, done, next and blocked, and invoice descriptions for the week. Type the amounts.
Where does a dedicated app fit?
Try Apple Dictation for a week of real client work first. A paid app is worth it if you dictate many short messages a day and want a hold-to-talk key, or if client and product names keep coming out wrong.
SuprFlow, which publishes this guide, is a menu-bar app for Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later. Hold the Fn key, speak, release, and the text is pasted at the cursor in whichever app has focus. Speech is recognised on the Mac with a downloaded model, and Default formatting is local cleanup of punctuation, capitalization and numbers. An optional Cloud API mode sends transcript text, not audio, to a provider you configure, which a client NDA may not allow, so leave it off for client work unless the contract permits it. It keeps up to 100 recent transcriptions in local history and has a personal dictionary for client names. It costs $125 once for a personal licence covering up to five Macs you personally own; agencies need separate terms, so contact SuprFlow.
It does not record or transcribe meetings, has no team admin console, is Mac only, and is not certified against any security standard. We have not benchmarked it against Apple Dictation. Your client's or employer's policy decides which tools you may use on their work.
Questions people ask
Can I dictate work covered by a client NDA?
Only if the whole path fits the NDA: speech recognition, any AI step, local history and the destination app. If the contract restricts sharing with third parties, a cloud service may count as one. Ask the client if unsure.
Can I install a dictation app on a client's laptop?
Not without the client's permission. A client-issued device follows their IT and security policy, and many clients restrict what contractors may install.
Is it better to record client calls and transcribe them?
That is a different job with different rules. Recording other people can raise consent questions under local law and the client's contract, and it creates an audio file to protect. Dictating your own follow-up after the call avoids recording anyone.
Can my whole agency use the same dictation app?
Apple Dictation is free on every Mac. For a paid app, check its licence terms; a SuprFlow personal licence covers one person's own Macs, and teams should contact SuprFlow. See SuprFlow personal licence vs team seats.
Related guides
- Voice to text for consultants
- Where does my dictation go?
- Local versus cloud formatting
- Dictate meeting action items by voice
- Voice to text for emails on a Mac
- SuprFlow personal licence vs team seats