Tushar Mehta / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is testing AI audio overviews in Chrome for Android.
- This feature will be available as part of Chrome’s Read Aloud functionality.
- AI audio overviews could convert text from any webpage into interactive NotebookLM-style podcasts for improved learning.
Google is steadily building up the number of touchpoints where we interact with AI by default. Search, one of Google’s most used products, has already been canopied by AI overviews for a text-based summary of search results. If you prefer hearing the results instead of reading them, Google is also testing “Audio overviews” in Search, offering a gist of the results in a podcast-like format, exactly like NotebookLM, and this feature now appears to be also pushing its way into the Chrome browser for Android.
Google was recently spotted testing Audio overviews inside Chrome, and it can be used to convert text from any webpage into a podcast. The AI audio overviews appear to be integrated within Chrome’s “Listen to this page.” Instead of reading the actual contents of the webpage, the Read Aloud function creates a summary of the contents using AI and then plays that as an interactive podcast involving two speakers.
Reddit user Leopeva64-2 spotted this functionality, also highlighting a new button for AI playback next to the playback speed button, under the progress bar for the Reading mode overlay. This new button can be used to toggle the functionality on and off.
The Redditor notably has the function in Canary — the version of Chrome where Google tests new features before rolling them out to the mainstream mobile or desktop versions, so it’s not available in the stable version yet. We weren’t able to recreate it, which indicates Google could be testing this with a select set of users.
However, Android Authority contributor AssembleDebug has spotted the following code strings in the beta version of Chrome for Android, pointing to audio overviews.
Code
<string name="0_resource_name_obfuscated_7f140ecb">Standard playback</string>
<string name="0_resource_name_obfuscated_7f140ecc">AI playback</string>
<string name="0_resource_name_obfuscated_7f140ed7">Generating AI playback…</string>
<string name="0_resource_name_obfuscated_7f140eec">Tap to switch playback mode</string>
<string name="0_resource_name_obfuscated_7f140eed">Standard playback</string>
<string name="0_resource_name_obfuscated_7f140eee">AI playback</string>
The presence of these strings validates Google’s intent to add AI-generated summaries for webpages in Chrome for Android. However, given the fact that they appear in Chrome Beta, it could be a while before they make it to the browser’s stable version.
Do you think AI audio overviews in Chrome will help you consume more information, or will they take the fun out of reading? Let us know your thoughts below!
