Google Chrome for Android Tests AI-Powered Audio Overviews Feature

Chrome on Android might borrow NotebookLM's best feature

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 Chrome could be getting a podcast-style twist for easy consumption

Chrome for Android could be getting a really fun new feature, which would allow it to use AI-generated voices to create an informative podcast about any webpage you see. Google just fused NotebookLM's coolest trick right into Search Google Search now has audio recaps for you Posts 6 As spotted on the r/google subreddit, Google Chrome for Android's beta build contains an upgrade to the AI overview that reads aloud whatever page you're on (via Android Authority). Rather than simply reading the page aloud, like the old AI overview would, this new feature uses the information on the webpage to create a podcast episode to tell you all about it. Chrome will be able to make podcasts on the fly As if your podcast lists weren't full already The feature was first spotted on the Google subreddit, courtesy of Leopeva64-2 and, later, Android Authority. Accessed through tapping the Listen to this page option in the side menu, the podcast takes a few seconds to load up before launching straight into the episode on, er, the Wikipedia article for Google Chrome. The language is a little stilted and unnatural (hearing "ChromeOS" pronounced as "Chromie-O-S" will never not be odd), and the two presenters are clearly robotic and AI-generated, with odd sections that echo podcasts but feel out of place. But even so, it's an impressive feat. Tapping another button will swap between the podcast version and the more traditional version, which simply uses one voice to read the webpage aloud. This is an evolution of a Search Labs feature Google debuted earlier this month, which can summarize information directly from a Google search. In this case, it's baked into the Chrome browser, and relies on you being on the page to begin with. Also, if the Reddit video above is a good representation of the enhanced feature, then it works very fast. Previously, it would take up to 40 seconds to build the "podcast", whereas this was close to instant. In fairness, the Google search version would dig through multiple sites to build its podcast, while the one above only needed to read through a single webpage. It's unclear exactly what the point of this is, though. Reading a webpage aloud has obvious implications for accessibility, but was anyone asking for pages to be summarized in the form of a podcast? It feels a little as if this is being added for the sake of it, not because it's particularly useful. Still, it's a fun feature if nothing else. Related I found a Chrome killer, and I'm absolutely thrilled The browser that changed everything Posts 25