Microsoft earlier in the year announced that it is working on introducing Voice Dictation for its Office Suite. The company had already introduced the Voice Dictation support for Microsoft Word desktop app some time ago.
Microsoft today confirmed that it will be rolling out support for voice dictation for Office Web apps in an upcoming update. This will allow users to create documents by using the voice commands.
The introduction of voice dictation support is an effort by Microsoft to support people suffering from dyslexia. The company will be rolling out the Voice support for its entire Office Suite.
Microsoft Word and OneNote are expected to get the dictation support in the coming weeks and the company plans to roll out the voice dictation support to PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook early next year. However, there are no confirmed dates for as to when the support will be available for PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook.
Microsoft first announced the voice dictation support feature in January this year and started rolling out the support in Office 365 for students. Microsoft earlier offered dictation in Office with a stand-alone add-in.
“Starting in February, we will introduce dictation in Office 365 to help students write more easily by using their voice,” the company said in a statement in January.
In addition to voice dictation, Microsoft will also include real-time translation in a future Office update for Word, OneNote, and Outlook online. OneNote for Windows 10 will also be getting the feature since Microsoft would like to make it easier to translate text within documents and this would not require any other add-ins.
The company is currently working on the translation feature with options like full-page translation along with word translations and is expected to roll out the feature as early as this fall.
Earlier this year, Microsoft unveiled a $25 million initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help people with disabilities. Microsoft continues to emphasize its philosophy of building AI to help everyone achieve their dreams. Microsoft’s future products will continue to empower people by providing them with more opportunities for independence and employment.
