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The Web Speech API gives browser-based apps two separate capabilities: speech recognition, which turns spoken audio into text, and speech synthesis, which reads text aloud. They use different interfaces and have different support and privacy considerations, so build and test each feature separately.

What the Web Speech API does

The API is a browser-facing JavaScript interface with two parts. SpeechRecognition handles speech input; SpeechSynthesis handles spoken output. As MDN’s Web Speech API guide explains, these capabilities can support accessibility and control, but the API does not make an application accessible automatically.

Capability Main interfaces Typical flow
Speech recognition SpeechRecognition Capture audio, then receive recognized text and, optionally, alternatives.
Speech synthesis (text to speech) SpeechSynthesis, SpeechSynthesisUtterance, SpeechSynthesisVoice Prepare text and options, select an available voice if needed, then speak it.

Neither half guarantees one consistent speech engine across browsers. Recognition services and synthesis voices depend on the browser, operating system, device, and implementation.

How to recognize speech

Recognition usually starts in response to a user action, such as pressing a microphone button. The constructor is not exposed under the same name in every browser: some expose webkitSpeechRecognition. Feature-detect both names, show the listening state, and keep a text-entry route available.

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const Recognition = window.SpeechRecognition || window.webkitSpeechRecognition;

if (!Recognition) {
  // Keep the task available through a text input or another fallback.
  console.log("Speech recognition is unavailable.");
} else {
  const recognition = new Recognition();
  recognition.lang = "en-US";
  recognition.continuous = false;
  recognition.interimResults = true;

  recognition.addEventListener("result", (event) => {
    const transcript = Array.from(event.results)
      .map((result) => result[0].transcript)
      .join("");
    console.log(transcript);
  });

  recognition.addEventListener("error", (event) => {
    console.error("Recognition error:", event.error);
  });

  recognition.addEventListener("nomatch", () => {
    console.log("No recognizable speech was returned.");
  });

  recognition.addEventListener("end", () => {
    console.log("Recognition session ended.");
  });

  // Call from a user-initiated action, such as a button click.
  recognition.start();
}

This example sets the recognition language, requests interim results, and listens for common lifecycle events. Interim results can change as recognition proceeds; do not treat them as final text until the result is marked final. In a production interface, use event.results[i].isFinal to distinguish final results from interim ones and update the displayed transcript accordingly.

Choose session and result behavior

  • lang identifies the requested language, using a language tag such as en-US.
  • continuous requests results over a longer session; it does not promise identical session behavior in all implementations.
  • interimResults requests provisional results as recognition progresses.
  • maxAlternatives sets the maximum alternatives requested for each result.

Use stop() when the user finishes and you want the service to attempt to return captured results. Use abort() when the user cancels and you do not want it to attempt to return a result. Handle error, nomatch, and end as ordinary outcomes; they are important for communicating whether the app is listening, finished, or needs another input method. See MDN’s SpeechRecognition reference for interface details.

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Recognition privacy, network access, and offline use

Recognition has an important privacy and connectivity distinction. MDN documents that, by default, recognition on a web page uses a server-based engine: audio is sent to a web service, and recognition does not work offline in that mode. Do not assume that microphone audio stays on the device merely because recognition is called from browser JavaScript. The implementation and its data handling matter.

Where supported, recognition.processLocally = true requests on-device recognition. MDN says this mode keeps both audio and transcription from being sent to a third-party service for processing. It is not a general privacy guarantee for every browser or recognition mode.

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On-device recognition requires language support

On-device processing requires an installed language pack. The MDN guide to language-pack availability and installation describes SpeechRecognition.available() for checking availability and SpeechRecognition.install() for installing a pack. If the requested language is not supported locally, start() may fail with language-not-supported.

The on-device-speech-recognition Permissions-Policy controls access to available() and install(). Its default allowlist is self; embedded cross-origin pages or a more restrictive policy may need explicit configuration. Availability and recognition quality depend on the implementation. Check whether local recognition meets the needs of your feature before requiring a pack, especially for dictation rather than short commands.

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How to turn text into speech

For spoken output, create a SpeechSynthesisUtterance, set its text and optional properties, and submit it to window.speechSynthesis. The available voices vary by system.

const synth = window.speechSynthesis;
const utterance = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance("Your message goes here.");
utterance.lang = "en-US";
utterance.rate = 1;
utterance.pitch = 1;

function speakWithSelectedVoice() {
  const voices = synth.getVoices();
  const voice = voices.find((item) => item.lang === "en-US");

  if (voice) {
    utterance.voice = voice;
  }

  synth.speak(utterance);
}

// Voice lists can become available or change after the page loads.
synth.addEventListener("voiceschanged", () => {
  // Refresh a voice selector here, if the interface has one.
});

speakWithSelectedVoice();

getVoices() returns voices available to the current system, not a fixed cross-browser catalog. If an app offers a voice selector, refresh it when the voice list changes and allow a sensible default. Keep essential information available visually or as text too; spoken output should not be the only way to receive it. See MDN’s SpeechSynthesis reference.

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Browser support and practical limits

Recognition support is more variable than speech synthesis. In the MDN browser-compatibility data snapshot dated September 30, 2026, unprefixed SpeechRecognition support is listed from Chrome 139; webkit-prefixed support is listed from Chrome 33 and Safari 14.1; Firefox is listed as preview. These are compatibility-dataset entries, not guarantees for every version, device, locale, recognition mode, or service. Check the current SpeechRecognition compatibility table and test your target environments.

MDN labels SpeechSynthesis widely available, though which voices are offered still depends on the system. Also, do not rely on speech grammars to constrain recognition: the old grammar concept no longer affects recognition services. Related interfaces remain for backwards compatibility, but they do not provide reliable recognition constraints.

Pre-release checklist

  • Feature-detect SpeechRecognition and webkitSpeechRecognition; provide a text alternative if neither is available.
  • Show when recognition starts and ends, and give clear responses to errors and unmatched speech.
  • Decide whether interim results, longer sessions, and multiple alternatives suit the task; test actual behavior rather than assuming uniform support.
  • Tell users whether recognition may use a server. If requesting on-device processing, check language-pack availability and account for Permissions-Policy.
  • Test the target browser, device, language, and network conditions, including the failure paths.
  • Keep equivalent visual or text controls for essential actions and information.

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