Apr 10, 2026
TLDR:
Willow works in every text field inside Arc with 200ms latency vs 700ms+ for Wispr Flow and Apple dictation
Speaks at 150 WPM vs typing at 40 WPM, saving 70%+ on emails, docs, and AI prompts
Learns your vocabulary and tone over time for zero-edit text that sounds exactly like you wrote it
SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant with shared team dictionaries for consistent formatting across your organization
Willow is an AI voice dictation tool that replaces 95% of typing in Arc with 2,000 free words weekly
Voice Dictation That Works Anywhere in Arc
Arc is a great browser. But if you've ever tried to speak inside it, whether you're drafting an email in Gmail, writing in Notion, or prompting ChatGPT, you know that built-in dictation falls apart fast. The text lags, the errors pile up, and you end up retyping half of what you said anyway.
Willow fixes that. It works in every text field inside Arc, no exceptions. Press a hotkey, speak naturally, and clean text appears in whatever app you're already in, whether you're drafting an email in Gmail or working in any other tool.
Three things set Willow apart from Wispr Flow, Apple's built-in voice dictation, and everything else you've tried:
Personalization: Willow learns your vocabulary, tone, and corrections over time, getting more accurate the more you use it. The goal is zero-edit dictation, text that sounds exactly like you wrote it.
Speed: At roughly 200ms latency, Willow is the fastest dictation tool available. Wispr Flow and Apple's built-in dictation both sit at 700ms or more, meaning you stay in flow instead of watching a cursor blink.
Security: Willow is SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant with zero data retention, so sensitive work stays private.
Why Built-in Dictation Falls Short in Arc
Arc users typically have a few options before finding Willow: Apple's built-in dictation, Wispr Flow, or a browser extension. None of them hold up well inside a live browser session.
Early browser dictation extensions relied on basic Web Speech API models that struggled with accuracy and had limited formatting control. Even newer options like Wispr Flow sit at 700ms or more of latency, long enough to break your train of thought mid-sentence. Apple's built-in dictation falls even shorter, with no context awareness across web-based text fields and a frustrating tendency to misread names, technical terms, and anything outside plain conversational speech.
The real cost shows up in editing time. When every paragraph needs corrections, you are not saving time. You are just moving the work around. AI-based tools analyze context, sentence structure, and grammar instead of transcribing sounds in isolation, which is exactly where accuracy starts to matter inside a browser like Arc.
How Willow Learns Your Writing Style Over Time
Most dictation tools treat every session like the first time they've heard you speak. Willow works the opposite way. The more you use it inside Arc, the sharper it gets for you.
There are three layers to how this works:
Auto-dictionary: When you correct a word or name, Willow remembers it permanently. Speak a colleague's unusual last name once, correct it once, and it's right every time after that.
Tone-matching: Willow reads the context of where you're typing. An email in Gmail gets formal structure. A Slack message gets a casual, conversational tone. You speak the same way regardless, and Willow handles the adjustment.
Context-aware transcription: The AI analyzes what you're working in to get technical terms, product names, and AI prompts right the first time, without you spelling anything out.
Inside Arc, this matters a lot. You might draft a formal proposal in Notion, answer a Slack thread, then fire off a detailed prompt in ChatGPT, all in the same browser session. That's three different tones, registers, and vocabularies. Willow tracks the difference without you lifting a finger.
The result is what we call Zero Edit Dictation. Text that comes out ready to send. You can build on this further with a custom dictionary, adding industry jargon or company-specific terms so nothing gets mangled from day one.
150 WPM in Arc: What That Speed Actually Means
The math here is straightforward. Typing averages around 40 WPM. Speaking with Willow runs at 150 WPM. That's nearly four times the output for the same mental effort, and most users end up replacing close to 95% of their typing entirely. Stanford found speech three times faster than typing with fewer errors.
For Arc power users, that gap shows up fast. A quick email becomes a 90-second task. A 500-word doc that used to eat your morning is done before your coffee cools. And if you're speaking AI prompts in ChatGPT or Claude throughout the day, you're reclaiming hours, not minutes.
Task Type | Typing (40 WPM) | Willow (150 WPM) | Time Saved |
|---|---|---|---|
200-word email | 5 minutes | 90 seconds | 70% faster |
500-word doc | 12 minutes | 3.5 minutes | 71% faster |
Daily Slack messages (1,000 words) | 25 minutes | 7 minutes | 72% faster |
AI prompts (100 words, 5x daily) | 12 minutes | 3 minutes | 75% faster |
Speed on paper is one thing. What makes it feel instant is the 200ms latency. With Wispr Flow or Apple's built-in dictation sitting at 700ms or more, you notice the lag. You pause. You lose the thread. At 200ms, text appears before you've had time to register a delay, which keeps your train of thought and your output in sync.
Works Across Every Web App You Use in Arc
Arc users tend to live inside their browser. Email, docs, project management, AI tools, CRMs, it's all happening in tabs. So the real question before committing to any dictation tool is simple: will it work where I actually do my work?
With Willow, the answer is yes, across every text field in Arc without exception. That covers:
Email clients like Gmail and Outlook Web without touching the keyboard
Document editors like Notion and Google Docs for longer writing sessions
AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, where speaking your prompts is far faster than typing them
Project management tools like Linear, Asana, and Jira for quick updates and comments
CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce web for logging notes and outreach
Any form field, comment box, or SaaS input you run into
Most daily writing happens in the browser that having voice typing work natively inside Arc removes the biggest friction point entirely. You never switch apps. You just speak.
Enterprise-Ready: Security and Team Features for Arc Users
For teams running their entire workflow inside Arc, security is a requirement before anything else gets considered.
Willow is SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant with a zero data retention policy. Voice is processed, text is returned, nothing is stored. For healthcare teams, signed BAAs are available. For enterprise buyers in compliance-focused industries, that clears most compliance checklists before procurement even starts. Need fully local processing? Offline mode handles that too, no internet required, no data leaving the device.
Beyond compliance, the team features are where Willow earns its place across an organization:
Shared custom dictionaries so every team member transcribes product names, client names, and internal jargon correctly from day one
Shared spelling overrides that enforce consistent formatting of company-specific terms across the whole team, perfect for quick updates in tools like Slack
Text replacement shortcuts that anyone on the team can access for boilerplate phrases and links
"When every person on the team is speaking the same terms the same way, you stop fixing each other's notes and start actually moving faster."
If you're considering Willow at the enterprise level, custom pricing is available for larger organizations with advanced admin and compliance needs.
Start Speaking in Arc, Free, No Card Required
Getting started takes about two minutes. Download Willow for Mac or Windows, set your hotkey, and you're speaking inside Arc before your next tab loads. No credit card, no setup call, no trial that expires in 48 hours.
The free tier gives you 2,000 words per week, refreshing automatically. That's enough to feel the 200ms difference, watch Willow learn your vocabulary, and get through a real day of work. If it clicks, the individual plan runs $12/month billed annually. Teams get even better value at $10/month per user, with shared dictionaries and spelling overrides included.
Stop typing everything. You already know how to speak.
FAQ
How does Willow work inside Arc without a browser extension?
Willow runs as a native Mac or Windows application that works system-wide, including inside every text field in Arc. Press your hotkey, speak, and text appears instantly, no extension required, no browser-specific limitations.
What makes Willow faster than Wispr Flow or Apple's built-in dictation?
Willow processes speech at roughly 200ms latency, while Wispr Flow and Apple's built-in dictation sit at 700ms or more. That 3.5x speed difference keeps you in flow state instead of waiting for text to catch up with your thoughts.
Can Willow handle technical terms and AI prompts in ChatGPT?
Yes, Willow analyzes context to transcribe technical terms, product names, and complex AI prompts correctly the first time. When you correct a specialized term once, Willow's auto-dictionary remembers it permanently for all future sessions.
Is Willow secure enough for sensitive work in Arc?
Willow is SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant with zero data retention. Voice is processed, text is returned, nothing is stored. Teams in healthcare and compliance-focused industries can use offline mode for fully local processing with no internet connection required.
How much of my typing can I actually replace with voice?
Most users replace 95% of their typing entirely, speaking at 150 WPM versus typing at 40 WPM. A 200-word email drops from 5 minutes to 90 seconds, and daily Slack messages that took 25 minutes now take 7 minutes.
