MathVoice for Google Docs
The Chrome extension path: dictate and edit equations in a side panel beside your document — no tab switching, no leaving your doc.
There are two ways to use MathVoice in Google Docs. This page covers the Chrome extension: voice right beside the document, with the microphone working in the side panel. The Workspace add-on works in any browser and adds round-trip editing (re-load an equation you inserted earlier). Many people use both.
What this extension does
The extension adds a MathVoice sidebar to Chrome. On a Google Doc, you can:
- Speak equations — the microphone works right in the side panel (grant the permission once); no separate voice tab needed
- Type equations — full LaTeX editing with live KaTeX preview
- Paste a rendered equation — the extension renders your equation to a PNG and places it on the clipboard; press Ctrl/⌘+V in the doc and it pastes as an image, font-matched to your text
- Fall back to LaTeX text — if the renderer is unreachable, the raw LaTeX goes to the clipboard instead
How it works
- Install MathVoice from the Chrome Web Store
- Open any Google Doc and click the MathVoice icon to open the sidebar
- First mic use: a one-time permission popup opens at mathvoice.app — grant it there, then the 🎤 works in the panel
- Speak or type your equation and watch it render live
- Click Copy equation image and press Ctrl/⌘+V in your document
Why clipboard instead of one-click insert? Google Docs paints the document — equations included — to a
<canvas>, so no content script can place a native equation for you. The rendered-image paste is the closest one-step path a Chrome extension allows. For a one-click insert that runs inside Google's own scripting layer, use the Workspace add-on.Extension vs add-on — honest comparison
| Chrome extension | Workspace add-on | |
|---|---|---|
| Voice input location | ✅ In the side panel, beside the document | ⚠️ Requires a separate voice tab (Google blocks mics in add-on sidebars) |
| Browser support | Chromium browsers only | ✅ Any browser with a Google account |
| Insertion | Paste a rendered equation image (Ctrl/⌘+V) | One-click insert at the cursor |
| Round-trip editing | ❌ Docs exposes no equation to read back | ✅ Re-load any inserted equation for editing |
| Install / deploy | One click from the Chrome Web Store | Google Workspace Marketplace (admin-deployable) |
Data and permissions — full transparency
| Permission | Scope | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
sidePanel | Browser side panel | Opens the MathVoice Studio editor in Chrome's side panel. |
clipboardWrite | Clipboard | Places the rendered equation image (or LaTeX text fallback) on your clipboard for pasting into Docs. |
| Microphone (browser) | Side panel | Used by Studio in the side panel for speech recognition. Granted once via a popup at mathvoice.app (Chromium doesn't allow permission prompts inside side panels). Audio is processed by the browser's speech engine — it never goes to MathVoice servers. |
| Network to mathvoice.app | Studio + intent API | Loads Studio in the sidebar and sends LaTeX to the intent API for processing. Formula data is not stored beyond the request. |
The extension does not read or modify your documents. It has no access to Google Docs page content, other websites, browser history, passwords, or personal data. See our Privacy Policy for full details.