Talk DAT! (often written TalkDAT) is AI dictation for Windows and Mac by Knight AI+AV. Both desktop versions are in public beta. Install Windows from the Microsoft Store, or download the notarized Mac beta for Apple silicon.
Dragon's professional editions are priced for organizations. Talk DAT! is free, runs on the PC, and works with the connection off. Bring your own key for a supported provider if you want one.
See your words while you are still holding the key. On a local model, with the switch on, the Talk DAT! bar shows the text so far about 1.2 s behind your voice, on a GPU or on six CPU cores, which matters most to anyone who cannot easily go back and check. Nothing leaves the machine.
For two decades, Dragon NaturallySpeaking was the default answer to "which dictation software should I buy". Today the consumer editions are discontinued, the Mac edition has been gone since 2018, and what Nuance still sells is professional software, Windows-only, priced for organizations. Talk DAT! is a replacement. It runs on Windows and Mac in public beta, dictates offline on the Local route after a one-time model download, and adds something Dragon never had: AI cleanup that turns rough speech into text you can send. It is free to download and use.
Every Talk DAT! entry below is checked against what the shipping build actually does. Dragon entries state only well-known public facts, conservatively, as of August 2026. Where we are not certain, the cell says "Not confirmed" instead of making a guess. Products change, so confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.
| Capability | Talk DAT! | Dragon |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Windows 10 and 11, and Apple silicon Macs on macOS 14 or later, in public beta. | Windows only. The Mac edition was discontinued in 2018, and the consumer editions are discontinued. |
| Price model | Free. | Professional editions priced for organizations, with paid plans for the cloud product. Check their site for current pricing. |
| Offline, on-device mode | Yes. On the Local route, speech recognition stays on your PC after a one-time model download. | Yes, desktop editions process speech on the PC. |
| AI rewrite and formatting levels | Two writing styles, one click apart: Chill tidies your words and keeps your tone, Executive rewrites them into polished, formal text. | Not confirmed |
| Custom vocabulary | Yes. Teach names and jargon with sounds-like aliases, plus four industry packs, Military, Medical, Legal, and Aviation, totaling nearly 1,400 curated terms. | Strong custom vocabulary; specialized Legal and Medical editions. |
| Spoken corrections | Yes. "Scratch that", "delete that", and "start over" work mid-dictation, and a trailing "press Enter" sends the line for you. | Yes, with deep command-and-control across the whole desktop. |
| Where you install it | The Microsoft Store on Windows, with no installer warning, and the download page for the Mac beta. | Sold through Nuance and its resellers. |
"Not confirmed" means we could not verify the capability from public information and would rather say so than guess. Dragon, NaturallySpeaking, and Nuance are trademarks of their respective owners; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nuance or Microsoft.
Here is what carries over, what gets better, and the one area where Dragon is still the better choice.
Teach names and jargon with sounds-like aliases, and switch on any of four built-in packs, Military, Medical, Legal, and Aviation, nearly 1,400 curated terms in all. If you dictate for a living, the profession pages go deeper: see dictation for work.
Download for WindowsSay "scratch that", "delete that", or "start over" mid-dictation and Talk DAT! does it. The gap is command-and-control. Dragon can drive the entire Windows desktop by voice, and Talk DAT! does not claim that depth. If you operate every menu by voice all day, Dragon Professional is still the better tool for that. If you mostly dictate text into email, documents, and chat, you will not miss it.
Dragon for Mac was discontinued in 2018. Talk DAT! runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later as a notarized public beta. The Mac page covers the permissions it asks for.
Talk DAT! for MacWeighing more than Dragon? The full comparison covers Wispr Flow and Windows Voice Typing too, and the platform deep dives cover speech to text on Windows and dictation software for Mac. Talk DAT! can also translate speech between languages on your own machine, an optional extra Dragon never offered. Rolling out to a team? It is free for organisations too; send rollout questions to Build@KnightAIAV.com.
Straight answers, matching what the product actually does today.
The consumer editions are discontinued. What Nuance still sells are professional editions: Windows-only, priced for organizations, and sold on paid plans for the cloud product. The Mac edition was discontinued in 2018, so Mac users have had no Dragon path for years.
Yes. On the Local route, speech recognition runs on your own PC after a one-time model download, with no usage charges from us. An optional bring-your-own-key route sends to a supported provider under your own account instead.
Yes. Teach names and jargon with sounds-like aliases, and switch on any of four built-in industry packs, Military, Medical, Legal, and Aviation, nearly 1,400 curated terms in all. Spoken corrections like "scratch that" and "start over" work mid-dictation too.
Yes. Talk DAT! has public betas for Windows 10 and 11 and for Apple silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later. The Mac disk image is notarized by Apple. Intel Macs are not supported.
Nothing. Talk DAT! is free to download and use, and no account is needed to dictate. Signing in with an emailed six-digit code or Sign in with Apple is optional.
Talk DAT! runs on the Windows PCs and Macs you use today, and it is free.
Download for Windows Download for Mac Rolling out to a team? Build@KnightAIAV.com