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Parachute

Dictation

Dictation lets you speak your prompt instead of typing it. Click the mic icon, talk normally, and Parachute transcribes what you say into the input in real time. Useful when you are drafting on the go, working with long-form context, or just prefer to talk through a question.

Where to find it

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The mic icon sits to the left of the send button, on every screen where you can type a prompt. Hovering it shows a Dictate tooltip.

How to use it

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  1. Click the mic icon.
  2. The first time you use dictation in a browser, the browser asks for permission to use your microphone. Click Allow.
  3. The button expands to show Connecting…, then Listening… once the connection is open. A stop button replaces the send button on the right.
  4. Talk normally. Live text appears in the input as a faint italic preview, then settles into your prompt as Parachute finalises each phrase.
  5. When you are done, click the stop button. The button shows Stopping… briefly, then everything returns to normal and you can edit or send the prompt.

You can edit the transcribed text at any point - dictation just types into the box for you, it does not lock the input.

What you see while dictating

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  • Mic button states. The mic icon stays visible the whole time as a status indicator. Next to it you will see Connecting… while the session opens, Listening… while you are speaking, and Stopping… while the session ends.
  • Live preview text. As you speak, an italic, muted preview appears at the cursor. This is the running transcript before Parachute has finalised it. It updates word by word.
  • Finalised text. When you pause or finish a sentence, the preview disappears and the cleaned-up text - with capitalisation and punctuation applied - is inserted into the prompt. Successive segments are separated by a single space.
  • Stop button. The blue stop button on the right has a soft pulsing animation while you are recording, so you can see at a glance that dictation is active.

What works well

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  • Natural sentences. Talk in full sentences. The model adds punctuation and capitalisation automatically based on your phrasing and pauses.
  • Quiet rooms. Background noise and overlapping voices reduce accuracy. A headset or quiet office works best.
  • Dictate, then refine. Get the rough content in by voice, then tidy up by typing before you send.
  • Long prompts and context. Dictation is faster than typing for long, contextual prompts. Try giving Parachute the matter background in your own words rather than pecking it out.

Limitations

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  • English only. Dictation currently transcribes English. Other languages are not supported.
  • Legal terminology and proper nouns. Statute names, party names, case citations, and other unusual terms may need correcting by hand. Review the transcript before sending.
  • One session at a time. You can only dictate into one input box at a time.

If dictation will not start

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  • “Microphone access was denied.” Your browser is blocking microphone access. Open your browser site settings for Parachute and allow microphone access, then reload the page. On macOS, you may also need to allow your browser to access the microphone in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.

Next steps

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