Google News Audio Briefing uses AI to transform how users consume daily stories

Google News Audio Briefing reinvents how you experience stories that matter

Google News is becoming more and more personalized thanks to new tools and AI features. For the most part, it's a good thing, making it more efficient for everyday use. We've also seen the UI get some nice upgrades over the past year as well. However, there's always so much news to consume, and it's not always possible to read everything you want to know about. And while there are many different ways to go about this problem, it looks like Google is once again leveraging AI in order to solve this problem. A new way to experience the news Google's latest AI feature comes in the form of News Audio Briefing, which takes popular stories from around the web and makes them into an easily consumable piece of audio. The news was picked up by 9to5Google, and this could become a whole new way for you to enjoy your news content going forward. As far as what the Google News Audio Briefing is all about, well, for the most part, AI will take content that it deems important to you and create an audio piece that you can quickly listen to. In the app, there will be a new Listen tab, and clicking on this will provide access to the top stories of the moment. The great part about this is that while you're listening to stories, you'll get markers to head into the articles they're referencing, allowing you to take a deep dive if you want to. And just like any audio player, the News Audio Briefing will allow you to go forward, backwards, play, pause, and even listen at different playback speeds. And if you're curious what this sounds like, 9to5Google reports that their briefing was a discussion of the news between two hosts. It's a good approach, making the audio more lively. Naturally, this could evolve as well, and only time will tell. And just in case you were curious, the Audio Briefing is only being created using approved sources. So, you may not be able to listen to all the news you're interested in, but it's a good start. If you're interested, you can take a look at your Google News app and check to see whether you have access to the Listen tab. If not, be sure to update your app to the latest version.

'Google News Audio Briefing' rolling out with new Listen tab on Android

Following last week's announcement, the Google News Audio Briefing is beginning to roll out on Android. Google has a new pilot program with news publishers around the world to "explore how AI can help drive more engaged audiences." Specifically, the company is "working with publishers to experiment with new features in Google News." For example, we're testing AI-powered article overviews on participating publications' Google News pages to give people more context before they click through. And we're experimenting with audio briefings for those who prefer listening. The Google News app now has a fourth tab called "Listen" that features over-the-ear headphones badged with an AI sparkle. Tapping the tab slides up a bottom sheet. This audio player heavily leverages Material 3 Expressive with a play/pause button that morphs and Playback speed controls that make use of button groups. You have 15-second rewind, 30-second forward, and a button to jump to the next subject. Tap the three-dot button to "Send feedback," with Google noting how: "The Audio Briefing is generated by AI. AI can make mistakes." When a story is playing, you will see the headline in the top M3 Expressive container and a pill to "See featured article." The button next to it lets you see other stories (Full Coverage). Minimizing this sheet gives you a miniplayer above the bottom bar, while you have standard playback controls in the notification shade. You can browse the Google News app or the rest of your phone as the briefing plays in the background. Good morning. It's Wednesday, December 17th. This is the Google News audio briefing, bringing you that story and more sourced from dozens of newsrooms. We're your AI hosts. Let's get you in the loop. My audio briefing today is 13 minutes long with six stories. It's in the Audio Overview style where you get two hosts having a discussion. The featured articles come from publications in the program like Der Spiegel, El País, Folha de S. Paulo, Infobae, Kompas, The Guardian, The Times of India, The Washington Examiner, and The Washington Post. Google previously experimented with Daily Listen in the Discover feed, but placing this Audio Overview in the News app might make the most sense. We're seeing Audio Briefing in the US today with version 5.146.x of Google News for Android.

Google News Audio Feature Reads Headlines Aloud With Gemini AI - Phandroid

Your morning commute just got smarter. Google News rolled out a text-to-speech feature that reads headlines and full articles aloud directly in the app, activated via a speaker icon on stories. Powered by improved Gemini AI voices, it delivers natural-sounding narration in multiple languages with adjustable speeds from 0.5x to 2x. Available on Android and iOS Google News apps (version 6.5+), the audio feature supports background play, pausing automatically when you lock your screen to save battery. Unlike YouTube where ads interrupt playback, this pulls stories from publishers like Reuters without commercial breaks, making it ideal for catching market updates during workouts or chores. The Gemini voices include emotion detection that makes headlines engaging for seniors or drivers, rivaling Audible but completely free and personalized to your news feed. That accessibility boost matters for visually impaired users who previously relied on clunky screen readers. Background audio syncs with Wear OS watches or CarPlay, letting you catch breaking news while running errands without fumbling with your phone. It's opt-in per story or set as default in settings, giving you control over when articles play aloud versus when you prefer reading silently. Google also shares listening stats back to publishers, potentially growing subscriptions as users discover stories via voice during daily routines. The feature isn't globally available yet, though international users can access it by changing their region settings to United States through the profile menu in News settings.