Speechify Adds Voice Typing and Voice Assistant to Chrome Extension

Speechify, previously known for helping users listen to articles, PDFs, and documents, is now expanding its Chrome extension with new voice detection features, including voice typing and a voice assistant that can answer questions.

Over the past year, voice detection tools have improved significantly due to advancements in speech recognition models. Riding this wave, Speechify has introduced its own dictation tool, now available in English. Like other dictation platforms, Speechify’s voice typing corrects errors and removes filler words.

During early testing, the tool works well with Gmail and Google Docs, but users may encounter difficulties on platforms such as WordPress. Speechify is gradually optimising performance for additional sites. Accuracy is improving over time as the tool learns from usage, though its current word error rate is slightly higher than competitors like Wispr Flow, Willow, and Monologue.

Image Credits: Speechify

In addition to dictation, Speechify has launched a conversational voice assistant in the browser sidebar. Users can ask it questions such as “what are the three key ideas?” or “explain this in simpler terms.” Unlike ChatGPT and Gemini, where voice is secondary, Speechify emphasises voice as the primary interaction mode.

“We know from several years of building Speechify that there’s a large portion of the market who want voice as the default setting every time they open an app and talk to AI,” said Rohan Pavuluri, Speechify’s chief business officer, in an email to TechCrunch.

Currently, the voice assistant does not work with browsers that have in-built sidebar assistants, such as OpenAI’s Atlas, Perplexity’s Comet, and Dia. Speechify is focused on Chrome, which accounts for the majority of its user base.

The startup plans to gradually roll out voice typing and the voice assistant across all its desktop and mobile apps. Plans include developing agents that perform tasks on users’ behalf, such as making calls for appointments or interacting with customer support, a goal that other companies like Truecaller and Cloacked are also pursuing.