Google is experimenting with a new way to deliver search results, one that talks back. A feature called Audio Overviews is now available to users in the US through Google’s Search Labs, offering short spoken summaries for some queries, powered by the company’s Gemini AI model.
Once enabled, the tool introduces an audio clip that sounds like a brief conversation between two computer-generated voices. The new AI-powered feature discusses the topic at hand, aiming to give listeners a broad overview without needing to scroll through multiple websites. It’s not on by default, users have to opt in, and for now, only certain topics trigger the option. But that could change. If past rollouts are anything to go by, this might soon become a default feature, with no option to turn it off.
When it appears, the player sits midway down the page, just below the “People also ask” section. Users are asked to generate the clip manually, and it may take several seconds before playback begins. The result is a back-and-forth between the AI voices, covering key points from the top-ranked search results.
Playback controls are simple i.e.: pause, skip, volume, and variable speed settings are all included. Below the player, Google lists the websites that contributed to the summary. Users can also rate the experience with a thumbs up or down, giving feedback on the audio or the experiment as a whole.
The idea behind Audio Overviews, according to Google, is to help people get a quick sense of unfamiliar topics, especially in situations where reading isn’t convenient - such as when commuting or multitasking. A suggested prompt is “how do noise cancellation headphones work?”, though the feature is already appearing for a growing range of searches.
The same audio format has previously appeared in other Google products, including NotebookLM, the Gemini app, and even Google Docs. This latest rollout to Search reflects the company’s continued shift toward more “multimodal” experiences, blending text, audio, and interactivity in a single interface.
But while the feature works relatively well for straightforward topics, it isn’t flawless. AI-generated summaries have occasionally shown inconsistencies or factual gaps, particularly when drawing from a broader set of online sources. Unlike NotebookLM, where the AI works from a curated document set, the open nature of Search can lead to less reliable interpretations.
There’s also the question of what this means for the wider web. If users rely on spoken summaries for quick answers, fewer may click through to original sources, a trend already affecting publishers as AI tools become more prominent in search.
For now, Audio Overviews remain opt-in and experimental. But given Google’s recent history, that may not be the case for long. Like its earlier text-based AI summaries, which moved from limited trials to default search features within weeks, this voice-driven format may follow a similar path.
Read next:
• From OpenAI's o3 to Grok-3 Vision: These AI Models Took the Mensa Test, Results May Surprise You
• Remote Regions in the United States Still Struggle With High Costs and Poor Internet Access
Once enabled, the tool introduces an audio clip that sounds like a brief conversation between two computer-generated voices. The new AI-powered feature discusses the topic at hand, aiming to give listeners a broad overview without needing to scroll through multiple websites. It’s not on by default, users have to opt in, and for now, only certain topics trigger the option. But that could change. If past rollouts are anything to go by, this might soon become a default feature, with no option to turn it off.
When it appears, the player sits midway down the page, just below the “People also ask” section. Users are asked to generate the clip manually, and it may take several seconds before playback begins. The result is a back-and-forth between the AI voices, covering key points from the top-ranked search results.
Playback controls are simple i.e.: pause, skip, volume, and variable speed settings are all included. Below the player, Google lists the websites that contributed to the summary. Users can also rate the experience with a thumbs up or down, giving feedback on the audio or the experiment as a whole.
The idea behind Audio Overviews, according to Google, is to help people get a quick sense of unfamiliar topics, especially in situations where reading isn’t convenient - such as when commuting or multitasking. A suggested prompt is “how do noise cancellation headphones work?”, though the feature is already appearing for a growing range of searches.
The same audio format has previously appeared in other Google products, including NotebookLM, the Gemini app, and even Google Docs. This latest rollout to Search reflects the company’s continued shift toward more “multimodal” experiences, blending text, audio, and interactivity in a single interface.
But while the feature works relatively well for straightforward topics, it isn’t flawless. AI-generated summaries have occasionally shown inconsistencies or factual gaps, particularly when drawing from a broader set of online sources. Unlike NotebookLM, where the AI works from a curated document set, the open nature of Search can lead to less reliable interpretations.
There’s also the question of what this means for the wider web. If users rely on spoken summaries for quick answers, fewer may click through to original sources, a trend already affecting publishers as AI tools become more prominent in search.
For now, Audio Overviews remain opt-in and experimental. But given Google’s recent history, that may not be the case for long. Like its earlier text-based AI summaries, which moved from limited trials to default search features within weeks, this voice-driven format may follow a similar path.
Read next:
• From OpenAI's o3 to Grok-3 Vision: These AI Models Took the Mensa Test, Results May Surprise You
• Remote Regions in the United States Still Struggle With High Costs and Poor Internet Access
