Skip to main content

New Google Assistant feature turns the internet into one giant audiobook

A new Google Assistant feature is capable of reading web pages out loud in 42 languages, which basically transforms everything on the internet into an audiobook.

The feature is named Read It, and it is launched by simply saying “Hey Google, read it” or “Hey Google, read this page.”

Read It with the Google Assistant: Listen to web pages

Read It, which is accessible through browsers and Android smartphones, will automatically scroll through the web page that it is reading, with words being highlighted as they are read out loud. The reading speed may also be adjusted to go faster or slower, and buttons that appear may be used to pause the reading, or to skip backward and forward through the text.

Google developed the feature to make Google Assistant read the web pages aloud in “expressive and natural voices,” with intonations and rhythms that humans use if they read the text aloud themselves.

If the text on the web pages are not in the person’s native language, they may use Read It’s translation menu to select their desired language. Google Assistant will automatically translate the text before reading it out loud.

Google added that websites will not need any special coding to enable Read It, but it is possible to block the feature by using the “nopagereadaloud” tag. Developers, meanwhile, may integrate Google Assistant’s new ability into mobile apps.

Improving accessibility

Read It may be used in a variety of situations, such as catching up on the news while driving or following a recipe while working in the kitchen. The feature will also help people with visual impairments or reading difficulties, as Google Assistant will help them read anything they find online.

Read It may be combined with Google Assistant’s feature that allows people to change its voice and accent. The voices of singer and songwriter John Legend and Issa Rae, star of HBO’s Insecure, are also available, though Legend’s voice will no longer be available after March 23.

Google Assistant’s Read It follows a similar feature in Apple’s iOS 13, which allows Siri to automatically read incomings messages aloud if the iPhone’s owner is wearing second-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Solo Pro.

Editors' Recommendations

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
A big Google Pixel 9 feature just leaked, and it sounds impressive
Holding the Google Pixel 8 Pro in front of a bush.

Google introduced a “screen protector detector” service with the launch of Google Pixel 8 last year. It detects when you take a screen protector on or off to adjust the display's touch sensitivity. Google now seems to be building upon that and is aiming to release a new feature called “Adaptive Touch” with the next Pixel.

According to a report from Android Authority, Google is preparing to add this Adaptive Touch feature on the Google Pixel 9. In his teardown of Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1, Mishaal Rahman found the option under Settings > Display > Touch sensitivity. It is said to “automatically adjust to your environment, activities, and screen protector.”

Read more
The Google Pixel Watch 3 could steal this Apple Watch feature
A person sitting down and wearing the Google Pixel Watch 2.

Google is readying an upgraded wireless connectivity suite for its upcoming smartwatch that improves location tracking accuracy and helps with remote device unlock. The folks over at 9to5Google took a peek at the code of the latest Play Services app update and found mention of ultra-wideband (UWB) for device unlock.

The Google Pixel Watch 2 already offers a device unlock feature that keeps your smartphone unlocked as long as it is close to your smartwatch. Built atop Bluetooth-based proximity sensing, this system creates a “trusted device” pair, which essentially tells your phone that you are nearby (courtesy of the watch on your wrist) and keeps it in an unlocked state.

Read more
Have a Google Pixel phone? You’re about to get these new features
A person holding the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

One of the great things about Google’s Pixel phones is how often the company sweetens the pot with its Pixel Feature Drops. While they’re not always the most exciting updates, every so often, we get some pleasant surprises; this month’s Feature Drop fits into that latter category with some new goodies that will be of particular interest to owners of phones in the recent Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 8 lineups (and of course the Google Pixel Fold).

That doesn’t mean older Pixel phones are entirely left out of the party, though. There’s at least one helpful enhancement here for the Pixel 6 and even some smaller improvements that go back to the Pixel 5a. Let's dig into everything that's new.
New features coming to Pixel phones
Circle to Search Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more