Voice Writing with AI

by Thomas Officer
Voice Writing with AI

Table of Contents

Sit at a typewriter and bleed

Whenever I write, I get stuck. Something about staring at a blank page makes me freeze. What's that Hemingway quote? "Writing is easy, you just sit at a typewriter and bleed." That's what writing usually feels like to me, but for this blog post I decided to take a different approach: I went for a walk. I left my notebook at home and instead brought my iPhone. I used a voice recording app and just started talking about my idea. When I got home, I used AI to process my transcript and was stunned to discover connections, insights, and phrasings ready to use for this blog post. I call this "voice writing" – the process of speaking your thoughts and using technology to transcribe and transform those spoken words into written content.

This experience isn't unique to me. "Writing with my voice helps me explore, organize, and expand my ideas," says Tom Martin. "It transforms scattered thoughts into a coherent narrative that I can then build on in my teaching and creative work."

Voice writing is revolutionizing how we create content, especially as AI tools evolve to better capture, organize, and enhance our spoken words. But what's happening isn't just about convenience — it's about accessing a different part of our brain.

Why Voice Writing Beats Typing for Developing Ideas

Have you ever noticed how different it feels to speak your ideas versus type them? When I speak, something happens — I tap into a well of spontaneity that feels locked when my fingers are on a keyboard.

When recording my voice, I find myself expressing connections and insights that surprise me. It's as if speaking bypasses that cautious editor that scrutinizes every word as I type. The ideas flow in a stream, unconstrained by the mechanics of typing or the perfectionism of my internal editor.

When typing, I'll write a sentence, delete it, rewrite it — sometimes spending minutes crafting what would take seconds to say. This self-editing happens unconsciously, filtering my raw thoughts before they can reach the page.

After experimenting with both methods, I've identified four key advantages to voice writing:

  • Spontaneity: My spoken thoughts flow naturally and without constraint, capturing ideas that might otherwise be filtered out during typing.
  • Velocity: I can speak nearly four times faster than I can type (around 150 words per minute compared to 40), keeping pace with my rapid-fire thinking.
  • Associative thinking: Speaking seems to activate more associative connections in my mind, leading to unexpected links between ideas.

Professor Andy Neely of the University of Cambridge highlights the power of capturing fleeting thoughts, noting, "When I was preparing a course, Echo became my go-to tool for quickly jotting down ideas and examples. It let me capture those fleeting thoughts that later evolved into structured teaching content."

This difference between speaking and typing isn't just about convenience — it's about accessing different cognitive resources. Voice writing taps into a more natural form of expression.

It's important to note that traditional writing methods still hold significant value. Typing is often superior for tasks requiring meticulous attention to detail, complex structuring, and careful editing. The act of typing can encourage a more linear and logical progression of ideas, and it allows for precise control over word choice and sentence construction. While voice writing excels at generating raw material and exploring connections, typing remains crucial for refining and polishing that material into a final, well-structured piece.

Voice Writing: Not New, Just Now Accessible

Voice writing isn't new. Dictation has been used professionally for decades.

  • Legal professionals dictate case notes.
  • Medical doctors dictate patient reports between appointments.
  • Court reports capture proceedings.

What's changing, however, is accessibility. Before AI, voice notes required labor-intensive, and expensive, transcription. The technology for voice writing existed, but the accuracy, cost, and workflow integration posed significant barriers for most people.

Using an AI Writing Assistant to Organize and Expand Ideas

Modern AI voice writing tools are changing the game. AI doesn't just transcribe — it collaborates, organizing thoughts, suggesting connections, and even asks probing questions that push your thinking deeper.

This creates a unique symbiosis between human voice and artificial intelligence that manifests in fascinating ways:

  • Pattern recognition across disparate ideas: "I was amazed that Echo not only organizes my notes into topics but also interrelates them," says Tom Martin. "A random note on, say, 'watermelon approach' got linked to 'learning strategies'—that unexpected connection really expands my creativity."
  • Transforming chaos into structure: Ali Sheikholmolouki explains, "I really appreciate that I can simply record my voice and let Echo handle the heavy lifting, like transcribing and organizing. Unlike live AI chatbots that demand immediate responses, I love that I can drop my thoughts into Echo at any time and revisit them later when I'm ready to take action."
  • Creating a virtuous feedback loop: "When you use Echo as intended — capturing and later reviewing your notes — it creates a powerful loop," notes Colin Short.

These enhancements aren't just conveniences, they represent a fundamental shift in how we externalize our internal thought processes. The AI doesn't just record what we say; it helps us develop what we think.

How to Use AI for Voice Writing: 3 Techniques

Three techniques I've identified to maximize the benefits of AI voice writing:

1. Capture Inspiration When it Strikes

Ideas don't schedule appointments. They arrive unexpectedly — during showers, commutes, or midnight walks. Successful voice writers ensure they're always equipped to capture these moments of inspiration.

  • Keep voice recording capability accessible on your preferred devices.
  • Create friction-free workflows for getting voice notes transcribed, organized, and synthesized.
  • Develop triggers or habits that make voice recording your default response to inspiration.

"I use Echo right from my iPhone's lock screen," says David Stevens. "It lets me quickly record ideas on the fly. It's far easier than writing things down."

2. The Rambling Technique

Many writers struggle because they try to be too structured too soon. Voice writing excels when you allow yourself to ramble — to explore ideas without immediate concern for organization or coherence.

  • Physically move while you speak — walking enhances cognitive flow.
  • Deliberately avoid outlining before you speak.
  • Embrace tangents and allow your mind to explore unexpected connections.
  • Use transition phrases like "This reminds me of…" or "Another way to look at this…"

"It's great being able to ramble into Echo," says Colin Short. "I see my thoughts transformed into neat bullet points. That synthesis turns my everyday ideas into a structured, actionable record."

Tom echoes this sentiment. "Echo has been really helpful as I work on a book. My thoughts are often disorganized, but Echo gives them structure. I'll go for a walk, record a rough idea, and then use Echo to clean it up and connect it to related thoughts."

Tom Martin shares a similar experience. "Sometimes the connections Echo makes are ones I wouldn't have seen myself—and that spark becomes the seed for an article or a chapter. It's like having a creative partner that helps shape my thinking and show me what's missing."

3. The Interview Method

When you've exhausted your initial thoughts or hit a creative wall, shift into interview mode. Answer personalized AI-generated questions to dig deeper into your thoughts.

  • Ask your AI writing assistant to generate questions about your topic.
  • Respond to these questions verbally, as if being interviewed.
  • Allow this dialog to uncover aspects of your topic you hadn't considered.
  • Use the resulting voice notes as more raw material for your writing.

The interview method is a game-changer for me personally. I record rambling thoughts to get the ball rolling, and then answer questions to dig deeper and flesh out my thinking.

Drawbacks and Challenges

Not all voice writing tools are created equally. Understanding their drawbacks will help you decide which tool is best for you.

  • Organization: Without robust automatic organization features, voice notes can leave you with a new problem: sifting through piles of transcripts.
  • Editing efficiency: While AI can help with initial organization, the process of editing and refining voice-generated text might still require significant time and effort.
  • Accessibility gaps: Some users with speech impediments or in noisy environments might find voice writing challenging.

I use voice writing for ideation and first drafts. I switch to typing for final polish.

Voice Writing and the Future of Work

As our tools continue to evolve, voice writing will increasingly become the default for initial content creation across industries. The cognitive benefits are simply too significant to ignore.

We're moving towards an era of hybrid creation, where professionals will:

  • Use voice for ideation, brainstorming, and first drafts.
  • Employ AI to structure, enhance, and question these spoken thoughts.
  • Reserve typing for precision work, technical details, and final refinement.

This evolution promises to make content creation more natural, accessible, and aligned with how our brains naturally process information.

Start Voice Writing Today

I've shared how voice writing with AI is transforming how we think and create. Now I invite you to experience this cognitive shift yourself. Download Echo and try this simple 7-day challenge:

  1. Each morning, take a 10-minute walk and record your thoughts on a project you're working on
  2. Let Echo organize and structure these thoughts by topic
  3. Ask Echo to generate questions about your ideas to help you dig deeper into your thinking
  4. Repeat daily for one week

By day seven, I bet you'll notice not just a collection of organized notes, but a fundamental change in how your ideas flow and connect. You might even find yourself thinking differently—more freely, more naturally—knowing Echo will help transform your spoken thoughts into structured writing.

The future of writing isn't about typing faster—it's about thinking better. And with tools like Echo, that future is already here. All you need to do is start talking.

Share Your Experience

Have you tried voice writing with AI? We'd love to hear about your experience!

Built with Echo

The idea for this blog was developed using Echo, an AI and voice note-taking app designed for writers.

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