You want to use your voice to interact with Copilot instead of typing. Copilot voice input lets you dictate questions, commands, and notes hands-free across Microsoft 365 apps. This article lists every language currently supported for voice dictation and explains the key limitations you must know before relying on it. You will also learn how to verify your microphone setup and which features are restricted by language availability.
Key Takeaways: Copilot Voice Input Languages and Restrictions
- Copilot voice input languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese Simplified, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, and Arabic are the nine supported languages.
- Microphone permission in Windows Settings: You must enable microphone access for Microsoft 365 apps under Privacy and security > Microphone.
- Language mismatch error: If your keyboard language differs from your spoken language, Copilot may fail to transcribe or return a language not supported message.
Copilot Voice Input: Supported Languages and Specifications
Copilot voice input uses the same speech recognition engine as Microsoft 365 Dictate. The feature converts spoken words into text and sends that text to Copilot for processing. Voice input is available in the Copilot sidebar in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook on Windows 11 and Windows 10. The feature also works in the Copilot mobile app for iOS and Android.
The speech engine supports nine languages for real-time dictation. These languages are the same ones that Microsoft 365 Dictate supports for transcription. Each language has a specific locale variant, but the engine can handle regional accents within that locale. For example, English supports en-US, en-GB, en-AU, and en-CA.
Full List of Supported Languages
The following table shows the nine languages, their locale codes, and the region variants supported for Copilot voice input.
| Language | Locale Code | Region Variants |
|---|---|---|
| English | en | US, GB, AU, CA, IN |
| Spanish | es | ES, MX, AR, CO |
| French | fr | FR, CA, BE, CH |
| German | de | DE, AT, CH |
| Chinese Simplified | zh-Hans | CN, SG |
| Japanese | ja | JP |
| Portuguese | pt | BR, PT |
| Italian | it | IT, CH |
| Arabic | ar | SA, AE, EG |
How Voice Input Routes to Copilot
When you press the microphone icon in the Copilot pane, Windows captures audio through the default input device. The audio is sent to Microsoft’s cloud speech service, which transcribes the speech into text. That text is then sent to Copilot as a standard text prompt. Copilot does not process audio directly, it only sees the transcribed text. This means all Copilot features, including grounded responses and plugin actions, work the same way as typed input.
Steps to Set Up and Test Copilot Voice Input
Before you can use voice input, you must verify that your microphone is configured correctly and that your language setting matches your spoken language.
- Check microphone permissions in Windows Settings
Open Windows Settings by pressing Windows key + I. Go to Privacy and security > Microphone. Ensure Microphone access is turned on. Scroll down to Let apps access your microphone and confirm that Microsoft 365 apps like Word and Outlook are toggled on. - Set your Windows display language to match your spoken language
Open Windows Settings > Time and language > Language and region. Under Preferred languages, ensure the language you will speak is listed first. If it is not, click Add a language and install the language pack. Copilot voice input uses the display language to determine which speech model to load. - Switch your keyboard language to the same language
Press Windows key + Spacebar to cycle through installed keyboard layouts. Select the keyboard layout that matches your spoken language. If your keyboard language differs from your display language, Copilot may show a language not supported error. - Open the Copilot pane in a Microsoft 365 app
Launch Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook. Click the Copilot icon on the Home tab or the ribbon to open the Copilot sidebar. - Click the microphone icon in the Copilot input box
The microphone icon appears on the right side of the text input field. Click it once. A pulsing circle indicates that Copilot is listening. Speak your question or command clearly. After you stop speaking, the transcribed text appears in the input box. Press Enter or click the send button to submit. - Test with a simple command
Say “Summarize this document” or “Create a table of sales data.” Copilot should respond within a few seconds. If the transcription is incorrect, check your microphone position and background noise levels.
Known Limitations and Restrictions
Copilot voice input has several limitations that affect where and how you can use it.
Voice Input Not Available in All Apps
Voice input is only available in the Copilot sidebar inside Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook on Windows desktop. It is not available in Copilot for Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Edge sidebar, or the Copilot website at copilot.microsoft.com. The mobile app supports voice input on iOS and Android.
Language Mismatch Causes Silent Failure
If your Windows display language is set to English but you speak Spanish, the speech engine will attempt to transcribe Spanish using an English model. The result is garbled text or a transcription that does not match what you said. Copilot will then process that incorrect text and return an irrelevant answer. Always ensure the display language and keyboard language match the language you intend to speak.
No Support for Code-Switching or Mixed Languages
The speech engine processes one language per session. If you start speaking in English and switch to French mid-sentence, the engine will transcribe the French words using English phonetics, producing errors. To switch languages, you must stop the current session, change the keyboard language, and start a new voice input session.
Voice Commands for Editing Not Supported
Copilot voice input is for dictation only. You cannot say “Delete that” or “Bold that word” and expect Copilot to perform formatting actions. Copilot interprets all speech as text for the prompt. To edit a document, type or use the ribbon commands. Microsoft 365 Dictate in the Home tab supports some voice commands like “new line” or “delete,” but those commands do not carry over to the Copilot pane.
Background Noise and Accent Sensitivity
The speech engine works best in quiet environments with a clear microphone. Heavy background noise, such as typing sounds or traffic, reduces transcription accuracy. Regional accents within a supported locale, such as Scottish English or Andalusian Spanish, may cause higher error rates. Microsoft recommends using a headset microphone for the best results.
Copilot Voice Input vs Microsoft 365 Dictate: Key Differences
Although both features use the same speech engine, they serve different purposes and have different capabilities.
| Item | Copilot Voice Input | Microsoft 365 Dictate |
|---|---|---|
| Primary function | Send transcribed text as a Copilot prompt | Insert transcribed text directly into the document |
| Supported apps | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook sidebar | Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Windows dictation system-wide |
| Voice commands | None | New line, delete, bold, italic, undo, and 20+ punctuation commands |
| Language count | 9 languages | 9 languages |
| Requires Copilot license | Yes, Copilot Pro or Copilot for Microsoft 365 | No, included with Microsoft 365 subscription |
| Offline availability | No, requires internet connection for speech processing | No, requires internet connection for speech processing |
You can now set up Copilot voice input with the correct language and microphone permissions. If you encounter a language not supported error, double-check that your Windows display language and keyboard language match. For best results, use a headset in a quiet room and speak clearly. As a next step, explore the Copilot settings pane to adjust the speech confidence threshold, which controls how aggressively the engine filters low-confidence transcriptions.