Voice dictation for Gmail: how to dictate emails that are ready to send.

You type dozens of emails a day and there's no built-in way to dictate them. Google Docs has voice typing but Gmail doesn't, so every reply, every follow-up, every quick "thanks for sending this over" gets typed out manually. And most voice tools that try to help just dump raw text into the compose window with no greeting, no paragraphs, no sign-off. You end up spending five minutes reformatting what was supposed to save you time. Feels familiar?

Rubil fixes this. It adds voice dictation directly inside Gmail and formats the output like an actual email. Available as a Chrome extension and a Mac desktop app, both calling the same backend, sharing the same Glossary, and applying the same formatting.

How Rubil works in Gmail

Open Gmail, click compose or hit reply on any thread, and start talking. Rubil's mic button appears right next to the text field and when you're done speaking, formatted text lands directly in the compose window. No floating box, no separate app, no paste step. It's just there, in the email, ready to send.

Here's what "formatted" actually means. Say this:

“

Hey Sarah um I wanted to follow up on the the Q3 report we discussed yesterday I think the revenue numbers in section two need another look like especially the APAC breakdown yeah can you loop in Marcus from finance and um set up a 30 minute call this week or something thanks

What appears in your Gmail compose window:

“

Hey Sarah,

I wanted to follow up on the Q3 report we discussed yesterday. I think the revenue numbers in section two need another look, especially the APAC breakdown.

Can you loop in Marcus from Finance and set up a 30-minute call this week?

Thanks

Greeting at the top, proper paragraph breaks where the thought shifts, punctuation and casing handled, professional sign-off at the bottom. It reads like a real email because Rubil formatted it as one.

What makes Gmail formatting different

Rubil detects that you're in Gmail and applies email-specific formatting rules, which means the same spoken words produce different output depending on where you're writing.

Take the same spoken input from above and dictate it in three different apps:

Same words in, different output depending on the platform. You don't configure this or select a mode. Rubil detects the app you're in and adjusts automatically, every time.

This matters more than it sounds like it should. If you send 30 emails a day and each one needs a greeting, paragraphs, and a sign-off, that's formatting work you're doing on autopilot that Rubil takes off your hands. And if you switch from Gmail to Slack to Notion throughout the day (which you do), the formatting follows the context without you thinking about it.

Other Gmail dictation tools like Voicy, Voice In, and Google's built-in voice typing give you one output regardless of where you paste it. You get raw text and format it yourself and post-edit it. Rubil skips that step entirely.

Chrome extension vs Mac app for Gmail

Both work for Gmail, so pick whichever matches your setup.

If you live in the browser, the Chrome extension is the most direct path. If you also work in desktop apps like Apple Mail and Slack, the Mac app covers your full workflow.

Why not the alternatives

Google's built-in voice typing (Ctrl+Shift+S) only works in Google Docs and isn't available in Gmail. No formatting beyond basic transcription even where it does work, so if you want to dictate a properly formatted email, Google's own tool can't help you.

Voice In has solid basic transcription but zero formatting intelligence. The same raw text comes out whether you paste it into Gmail or a Notion page, which means you're formatting every email manually.

Voicy claims 99% transcription accuracy with a floating mic button in Gmail, but the output is identical regardless of platform. You still get unformatted text, not a structured email with greetings and sign-offs.

For a deeper comparison of how Rubil differs from other voice dictation tools, see our full breakdowns of Rubil vs Aqua Voice, Rubil vs Wispr Flow, and Rubil vs Willow Voice. And if your day also runs through Slack, the voice dictation for Slack guide covers how Rubil keeps every name and acronym right there too.

Quick tips for Gmail dictation

Set up your Glossary early with the names of people you email regularly, company-specific terms, and acronyms so Rubil gets them right every time instead of guessing.

Rubil works in reply threads, new compose windows, and forwarded messages, and the formatting adapts regardless of the compose context.

Don't worry about saying "period" or "comma" or "new paragraph" because Rubil handles punctuation and structure automatically from your natural speech.

Your audio is processed transiently and never stored. No transcripts are kept on Rubil's servers. Your Glossary is encrypted locally and in the cloud. Details on the privacy page.

50+ languages are supported, so dictate in whatever language you think in.

Take it further with Glossary expansions

This is where Rubil gets really useful for email. Expansions let you save blocks of text you repeat all the time and trigger them with a simple phrase while dictating.

For example, save your full mailing address and just say "my address" mid-sentence. Rubil expands it to the real thing. Save your email signature and say "add my signature" at the end of any email. Save your Calendly link and say "my booking link" when scheduling meetings. Save your standard payment instructions and say "wire details" when replying to a vendor.

The pattern is the same: anything you find yourself typing (or copying and pasting) more than once a week belongs in your Glossary as an expansion. Physical addresses, signatures, standard instructions, disclaimer text, booking links, conference dial-in details. Set them up once and they work across every email you dictate from that point on.