A brief history of autocorrect

It’s a technology that inspires scorn, but most of us depend on it.

Found on smartphone messaging apps, word processors, and other programs, autocorrect helps keep tidy up our spelling while our fingers fly.

It’s so ubiquitous that some researchers fear it might be dumbing us down as we forget how to properly spell words. Yet without it, simple communication could go from smooth sailing to stormy waters.

In the early 1990s, Microsoft employee Dean Hachamovitch set out to improve Word’s functionality. Already, Word had a glossary that could complete words. Hachamovitch realized that this tool could be adapted to automatically fix common typos and spelling errors.

Autocorrect initially checked for common typing errors such as “teh” instead of “the,” against programmed tables of common mistakes. Microsoft later expanded autocorrect’s capabilities, enabling it to check against entire dictionaries.

Even dictionaries proved inadequate because terms like “CDs” or “abuzz” weren’t officially recognized. Still, users could add custom words to their personal dictionaries. To build more complete dictionaries, Hachamovitch and his team added words that Microsoft employees included in their own personal dictionaries.

Hachamovitch later went on to head data science at Microsoft.

Autocorrect, among other productivity features, saves time and improves communication. Writing for The Fact Site, Dan Lewis estimates that Autocorrect steps in to correct his writing about 50 times a day.

It’s hard to pin down the economic value of Autocorrect, but according to SHRM, companies with at least 100,000 employees lose an average of $62.4 million per year due to miscommunication.

Companies with just 100 employees lose an average of $420,000 per year.