Although fast and accurate, it is not without limitations, problems, and bugs. I don't rely on Dragon for everything, but I do use it almost every day. I use Dragon to write short documents and emails, format and revise text, enter data into spreadsheets, browse the web, and more. The following descriptions apply primarily to the Windows version.) (Although Dragon for Windows and MacOS use the same underlying recognition engine and are equally accurate, the Windows version has more features and is more customizable. The most versatile and accurate product for Windows and Mac computers is Dragon Professional, aka Dragon. But with the buzz around voice-enabled digital assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, and Cortana, people are discovering that speech recognition exists today. Undoubtedly, ideas about speech recognition took root in the popular imagination through science fiction. employee Chuck Rogers estimated that 15% to 20% of computer owners got consistent and productive results from speech recognition, but admitted the proportion may be “closer to 5%.” He suggested two reasons: the learning curve, while not as steep as before, is still very steep and the disappointment people feel when they realize that “speech recognition just doesn't work like it does on Star Trek.”

But I am also aware that many people who could benefit from the technology use it for a short period, and then give up in frustration. I suspect that a larger percentage of new users stick with it. Heidi Horstmann Koester, in Abandonment of Speech Recognition by New Users (2003), reported that only one of the eight participants in her study was still using a speech recognition product after six months.ĭuring the 15 years since Koester's paper, speech recognition technology has greatly improved. But not everyone takes to the technology as I did. My longstanding use makes me, I suppose, an early adopter. For those tasks, I find that speech recognition is the best tool. There are many tasks - although not all - that I perform faster and easier by voice than via keyboard, mouse, or touch screen. So voice control of computers is second nature to me.

I have relied on speech recognition technologies for 25 years. This article was originally published on LinkedIn in February 2018.

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