Use predictive text in Word for Mac
3 min read
Typeahead completes sentences directly in Microsoft Word on Macs running macOS 14 or later. The suggestions come from Typeahead, and the same interaction works wherever you type on your Mac.
To use predictive text in Microsoft Word on a Mac, enable Typeahead for Word through Typeahead’s menu bar controls or Settings, then start a sentence. Press Tab to accept a suggestion, or keep typing to ignore it. You choose which completions become part of your document.
For a short Word exercise, start a sentence about when a draft will be ready. Use your own deadline and recipient. A completion is useful when it carries that sentence in the direction you intended; you can keep writing whenever you already have the words.
Accept a completion inside your document
Set up Typeahead before starting the exercise. Its local model needs to finish downloading before it can supply suggestions. For a broader introduction to the app controls, follow our guide to setting up Typeahead across your Mac.
- On a compatible Mac, install and open Typeahead, then let its local model download.
- Use Typeahead’s menu bar controls or Settings to enable it for Microsoft Word.
- Open a Word document and begin a sentence about your draft’s delivery.
- When a useful Typeahead suggestion appears, press Tab. Check that the completion becomes part of the document.
- Continue writing. When another suggestion appears, keep typing your own words to ignore it.
For an illustrative example, begin with The revised draft will be ready. A possible continuation would be for your review tomorrow. These are sample words for the exercise; the suggestion you receive can differ. Accept a completion when it matches the commitment you mean to make.
The pause is inside a Word sentence; accepting Typeahead’s next few words takes one Tab, with your cursor already where the writing continues. For the second part of the exercise, write your own continuation when another suggestion appears and check that your words enter the document.
If suggestions are missing, check the prerequisites used above: the operating system version, the completed model download and the app’s enabled status. These checks establish the setup for the exercise. The macOS minimum belongs to Typeahead; your Word release has its own system requirements.
Keep the writing controls separate
Word’s AutoCorrect, Apple’s inline predictions and Typeahead have separate controls. For this walkthrough, use the controls belonging to Typeahead to manage its sentence completions. The acceptance key alone does not identify which tool supplied a suggestion, because other prediction features can also use Tab.
To enable AutoCorrect in Word for Mac, choose Word > Preferences > AutoCorrect and select Replace text as you type. That setting controls Word’s automatic corrections. Microsoft provides the Mac steps in its AutoCorrect support guide; Typeahead’s completions are managed through Typeahead.
Apple’s setting is under System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input > Edit > Show inline predictive text. Apple describes Space as the acceptance key in its typing suggestions guide. Use Typeahead’s controls for the Word exercise.
Microsoft also describes Tab or Right Arrow in its Editor text predictions guide. Use the Typeahead setup above for the completions demonstrated here.
After the model download, Typeahead generates suggestions locally and works offline. It uses network access for model downloads, license activation and checks, and optional update checks and downloads. Those requests contain none of your writing. Our guide to local processing while you write explains this behavior further; Word’s storage and syncing have their own settings.
Return to the sentence about when your draft will be ready. Check that it names your intended recipient and deadline, then continue the paragraph. Accept a suggestion with Tab when it matches the commitment you mean to make.
