How do I get speech recognition?

You get speech recognition by switching on what your device already includes. iPhone: Settings, General, Keyboard, Enable Dictation. Android: keyboard settings, voice input on. Windows: press the Windows key plus H, and yes, Windows speech recognition and voice typing are free. Mac: System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation.

To turn on speech recognition for control rather than writing, the accessibility versions, Voice Control on Apple devices, Voice Access on Windows and Android, operate the whole device by voice, also free.

Beyond the built-ins, getting better speech recognition means apps carrying stronger models: higher accuracy on accents and jargon, plus cleanup the system mics never learned.

That stronger tier is a speech to text tool online away.