Google Tests AI-Generated Audio Overviews in Search Results

Google can now generate a fake AI podcast of your search results

NotebookLM is undoubtedly one of Google's best implementations of generative AI technology, giving you the ability to explore documents and notes with a Gemini AI model. Last year, Google added the ability to generate so-called "audio overviews" of your source material in NotebookLM. Now, Google has brought those fake AI podcasts to search results as a test. Instead of clicking links or reading the AI Overview, you can have two nonexistent people tell you what the results say. This feature is not currently rolling out widely -- it's available in search labs, which means you have to manually enable it. Anyone can opt in to the new Audio Overview search experience, though. If you join the test, you'll quickly see the embedded player in Google search results. However, it's not at the top with the usual block of AI-generated text. Instead, you'll see it after the first few search results, below the "People also ask" knowledge graph section. Google isn't wasting resources to generate the audio automatically, so you have to click the generate button to get started. A few seconds later, you're given a back-and-forth conversation between two AI voices summarizing the search results. The player includes a list of sources from which the overview is built, as well as the option to speed up or slow down playback.

Google tests Audio Overviews for Search queries | TechCrunch

Google Search is experimenting with Audio Overviews for certain Search queries, the company announced on Friday. The feature was first introduced to NotebookLM, Google's AI-based note-taking and research assistant. The tech giant says Audio Overviews will use its latest Gemini models to give users another way to absorb and understand information. "An audio overview can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information whether you're multitasking or simply prefer an audio experience," Google explained in a blog post. The feature is available starting today in Labs, Google's experimental program. The company says users will see the option to generate a short Audio Overview if Google thinks it would be useful based on their specific query. Once you generate an Audio Overview, you will see a simple audio player with play/pause controls, a volume button, and the option to adjust the playback speed. Google will display links in the audio player to show where it's getting the information from. If you want to learn more about a topic after listening to an Audio Overview, you can click on the links in order to dive deeper into your search. You can give a thumbs up or thumbs down on each Audio Overview, and the experiment as a whole in Labs. In NotebookLM, Audio Overviews give users the ability to generate a podcast with AI virtual hosts based on documents they have shared, such as course readings or legal briefs. Google also brought Audio Overviews to Gemini in March. Audio Overviews in Search builds on AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries Google supplies for certain Google Search queries. With Audio Overviews, Google is targeting people who are auditory learners or want more accessible ways to get information. It's worth noting that today's announcement comes a few days after a Wall Street Journal report found that Google's AI Overviews and other AI-powered tools are killing traffic for news publishers.

Too Busy to Read? Google's Audio Overviews Summarize Your Search Results Aloud

With more than a decade of experience, Nelson covers Apple and Google and writes about iPhone and Android features, privacy and security settings, and more. The next time you wonder why school buses are yellow, you might not have to read a single word to get the answer. Google's latest experimental feature can literally tell you the answer, in a tiny audio clip that loads right inside your results page. Launched Friday in Search Labs, Audio Overviews uses Google's latest Gemini AI models to turn certain queries into 30- to 45-second, podcast-style explainers, complete with on-screen source links for fact-checking. The move pushes Google's AI Overviews beyond text, positioning Search for a semi-hands-free, voice-first future, while also raising more questions about what this means for publishers who rely on clicks. You can try out Google's Audio Overviews right now if you're interested. Go to the Google Labs website, opt in to the Search Labs program if you're not already signed up and then toggle on Audio Overviews. The next time you run a query, like "How do I stop apps from tracking my exact location on my iPhone," Google might show you a button that says Generate Audio Overview, which you'll have to scroll down a little to see. You can then tap on the Audio Overview to process the clip, and then press play. You can speed up the audio, mute the clip and rate it with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, to better train it. Below the player, Google lists the web pages it drew from, so you can click through to fact-check the information or just dig deeper. For those who might have visual impairments, this new feature offers a glimpse at what a voice-first Google might look like. But until Google expands language support and proves the summaries are dependable, consider this a nifty experiment for now, not a substitute for reading the full story.

You can turn your Google Search into a podcast now - here's how

Last fall, Google unveiled a new feature for NotebookLM -- an option to turn your research into a fake podcast that helps you easily digest information. Now, your favorite faux podcast hosts are coming to Search. Also: How to remove your personal info from Google Search - it's quick and easy When you search for something in Google, you'll now see an option to make a podcast summarizing the information. It's for more in-depth queries, not straightforward Google searches. It's less for "What's the weather today" and more for "How do noise-canceling headphones work" or "Why is gold so valuable?" When you search with this feature on, you'll still see the traditional AI overview at the top. A result or two will appear below, then the "People also ask" section. Below that, you'll see "Generate audio overview." When I tested it with Google's example of "How do noise-canceling headphones work," it took about 5 seconds to build the audio. When it was done, a small player appeared and I had a four-minute discussion between two hosts explaining exactly how the technology functions. There are buttons to pause, mute, and adjust playback speed. Also: This hidden Chrome feature is my secret productivity trick - here's my favorite way to use it A notice said Google took its information from nine different sources and cited each one -- useful if you want to dive more into the topic yourself. Like in Google's other products, the mock podcast sounded fairly natural. I let my 11-year-old son try it out, and naturally, his first podcast request was asking why a certain bodily function smells bad. When Google generated the podcast, my son thought it was real people speaking. You can't interview this podcast yet like you can with NotebookLM's version, but it's a fantastic option for getting an overview of a topic you want to know more about. Also: Why the end of Google as we know it could be your biggest opportunity yet Since this is a Google Labs feature for now, you'll need to opt-in first. You can do that here. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

Just Press Play: Google Is Turning Some Search Results Into AI Podcasts

Google pitches Audio Overviews as a 'convenient...way to absorb information,' but it's also another way to kill traffic to the sources of information Google uses to generate these AI podcasts. Google is testing a new way to deliver AI-generated search results by turning them into "quick, conversational audio overviews for certain search queries." Basically, AI podcasts. The test seems to merge Google's AI-powered search summaries, also known as AI Overviews, with the company's NotebookLM, an online tool that can create audio podcasts featuring two AI hosts who dissect uploaded documents. The test is part of Google Labs, where the search giant tests new AI projects. The company created the experiment for users who might be busy multi-tasking or who prefer to receive search results in an audio format. Interested users can access the feature by opting into the test. "When our systems determine it might be useful, you'll see the option on the search results page to tap to generate a short audio overview on the topic of your query. You can give a thumbs up/down on each discussion, and the experiment as a whole in Labs," the company explained. The feature, called "Search Labs | Audio Overview," takes up to 40 seconds to work since it requires Google's Gemini model to research the search query by analyzing various third-party websites. Once done, it will generate a transcript; press play to hear it read out loud by two AI-generated hosts. The player will feature volume and playback speed adjusters. Google says the generated clip will cite its sources. Time will tell if the feature takes off. But the company has been integrating more AI into its traditional search business, saying it's seen an over 10% increase "in usage of Google for the types of queries that show AI Overviews." Still, the AI integration arrives amid growing concern that Google is elevating its own AI-powered search results over linking to third-party websites, taking traffic away from the very sources of information it relies on to generate those answers. Users have also spotted Google's AI search summaries spreading incorrect information.

Google is adding NotebookLM-style Audio Overviews to Search, and you can try them now

Summary NotebookLM's Audio Overviews feature, which turns sources into natural-sounding AI-generated podcasts, has been a standout feature since its launch and is finally expanding beyond NotebookLM. Google is testing Audio Overviews in Search through a Google Labs experiment, using the latest Gemini models to generate conversational summaries for select queries. You can opt into the experience today via Google Labs. Google has a wildly underrated research assistant called NotebookLM. Ironically, it didn't exactly take off because of its research capabilities. Instead, the tool went viral due to its Audio Overviews feature, which lets you turn sources into AI-generated podcasts. The podcasts that NotebookLM generates are engaging and, surprisingly, don't have the robotic voice most AI tools default to. The two hosts sound natural and almost like you're listening to two humans discussing a document you sent their way. Though these Audio Overviews have been powered by Gemini since Google added them to NotebookLM in September 2024, the feature was initially restricted to NotebookLM. In March 2025, Google finally made Audio Overviews available directly in Gemini's interface. Now, the feature is coming to Google Search too. Related Using NotebookLM's Audio Overviews in Gemini with Deep Research might be the smartest AI combo I've tried yet Audio Overviews shine brightest when paired with Gemini's Deep Research Posts 2 Google is testing Audio Overviews directly in Search As announced in a post on Google's The Keyword blog, Google is launching Audio Overviews in Search as a Google Labs experiment. The blog post explains that Search Audio Overviews will use the latest Gemini models to generate quick and conversational audio summaries for certain search queries. Based on the image that Google shared, it seems like the experiment will display a short Audio Overview on the search results page, right below the People also ask section. Google Though it isn't widely available yet, anyone can try it out by opting into the experiment in Labs. You can do so by heading to this Google Labs webpage and hitting the Turn On button. Then, toggle on the switch next to Turn this experiment on or off and hit the Start searching button. Doing so will essentially turn on all the AI Overviews experiments Google Labs is currently testing, including increased AI Overviews in Google Search. Google mentions that features from these experiments may appear on the search results page in the Google app, a few mobile browsers, and on Chrome desktops. Audio Overviews will only appear on search results pages where Google's systems determine they'll be helpful. Since Audio Overviews in Gemini are typically much shorter than the ones you can generate in NotebookLM, I believe it'll be a similar case in Search. I'm also curious to see if they'll be as well-liked as NotebookLM's. I assume these will be generated once a user clicks a certain trigger or prompt, which makes me wonder if a user would willingly wait around for an audio summary to load, especially when it'd take them less time to just skim text.

Google Search uses AI-generated podcast hosts to answer your questions

The experimental feature creates a customized podcast-like clip in response to your search query. Instead of digging through all the top search results, you can now ask Google Search to give you a comprehensive AI-generated summary with its Audio Overviews feature. The AI feature uses Google Gemini models to create a short audio clip that sounds like a conversational podcast with two hosts. It's not ideal for your basic search queries like finding out when Father's Day is, but it's helpful if you want an in-depth and hands-free response to the history and significance of Flag Day. The Audio Overviews option pulls from the front page Google Search results and compiles them into an audio summary where two voices bounce off each other for a more engaging answer. You can also adjust the volume and playback speed between 0.25x and 2x. Audio Overviews even includes the webpages it pulls the info from, letting you continue down the Google Search rabbit hole. It's not the first time Google has offered its Audio Overviews tool, but it was previously reserved for its NotebookLM tool. Google expanded on this feature by making Audio Overviews within NotebookLM more interactive, allowing you to ask the AI hosts questions in real-time, and added a "Deep Dive" option to get the AI to focus on a specific topic. To test out the Audio Overviews as part of Google Search, you have to opt into the Google Labs feature on its website.

Google's latest experiment brings NotebookLM's best features to Search

For this initial test, access is limited to the US and only supports English. Forgive us for sounding like a broken record by this point, but Google's Audio Overviews have easily emerged as one of the company's most genuinely impressive and useful AI tools. First debuting as part of the NotebookLM research assistant, Audio Overviews make text summaries a whole lot more accessible by crunching them down into what's essentially a mini podcast, with a pair of virtual hosts chatting back and forth. We've seen Google expand access and bring Audio Overviews to more of its services since then, like Gemini this past spring, and now it's coming to the granddaddy of them all: Search itself.

Google just fused NotebookLM's coolest trick right into Search

NotebookLM might be one of Google's smartest tools you've barely used. It first made waves -- not for its research chops -- but for its Audio Overviews feature. Instead of dumping information at you, it turns your source material into podcast-style recaps that actually sound like real people talking, not robots reading a script. After popping up in the Gemini app and Discover's Daily Listen, Google is now testing these AI-driven audio recaps right on the front page of mobile Search. Related NotebookLM's latest update speeds up replies by up to 40%, and it's all thanks to one minor change Sometimes the smallest fixes matter most Posts In a blog post, Google shared that Audio Overviews will tap into its latest Gemini models to offer a fresh, hands-free way to take in information. Right now, it's a US-only Search Labs experiment and only works in English (via 9to5Google). Once it's turned on, you'll see a "Generate Audio Overview" button pop up during searches. Hit it, and you'll get a clean little audio player with play/pause controls, volume, and speed options. Google says the option to generate an Audio Overview won't always show up, as it depends on whether it thinks your search actually needs one. But here's the odd part: the button is kind of buried. It shows up way down the results page, tucked below the AI Overview, ads, a pile of regular links (plenty from Reddit), and even the full "People also ask" block. So, don't expect it front and center. Close As per the blog post, whipping up an Audio Overview can take up to 40 seconds while it pulls information, builds the voice, and pieces everything together. If your search is super niche or a bit complex, expect it to take even longer. Google's quiet pivot to a voice-first Search future? Just like in NotebookLM and Gemini, this version brings in a duo of AI-generated "hosts" who break down your topic in a lively, back-and-forth style. And for those who like to double-check the details, Google adds extra transparency by dropping direct links to some of the sources used, right under the audio player. With this experiment, Google is nudging Search into a more voice-first, semi-hands-free future. More importantly, it's a big win for users with visual impairments. For now, though, think of this as a cool side feature -- not a shortcut to skip the full story. Until Google nails the accuracy, it's more of a teaser than a trusted takeaway.

Google is now testing AI audio clips to answer your search queries

The search results are compiled into an AI-generated podcast and played back using AI voices. Last fall, Google launched the Audio Overview feature for its AI tool NotebookLM, which allows you to AI-generate a podcast where two AI voices "discuss" the content of your documents. Now Engadget reports that Google has begun experimenting in a very similar way using Audio Overviews in its search engine. If you submit a longer or more complex Google search query, Audio Overview can kick in and produce a small podcast where two AI voices discuss the answer to your query. The generated discussion is based on the content found in the first page of search results. The feature links to the sources from which it pulls its information, in case you want to double-check the answers. If you find that the AI speaks too slowly, you'll be able to adjust the playback speed. If you want to give Audio Overview in Google Search a whirl, you should be able to turn on the experimental feature via Search Labs.

Here's why you should be excited about Audio Overviews coming to Google Search

The feature uses Gemini models to deliver podcast-style explanations with clickable links. I've been a fan of the Audio Overviews feature in Google's NotebookLM since I first experimented with it last year. Now, it's coming to Google Search, currently only as a test in the Labs, but it brings a more bite-sized version of the AI-generated "podcasts" that I like in NotebookLM. Once you've opted in through Labs, you'll start seeing a little prompt on some search results pages saying, "Generate Audio Overview." Tap that, wait about 30 to 40 seconds, and out comes a compact audio clip of around five minutes, sometimes less, that explains what you looked up in the form of two AI-generated voices having a discussion. Not too deep, but not one-sentence shallow either. Think of a middle ground between "Wikipedia rabbit hole" and "I read the headline only." While you listen, the audio player stays docked in your results page, showing clickable links to the sources the AI pulled from. You can keep browsing, tap into related articles, or just listen and absorb. If you like what you hear, you can give it a thumbs up. If it's egregiously wrong, the thumbs down is there too. Though similar to what NotebookLM does with its Audio Overviews, the Search version has one major difference. NotebookLM only uses documents you upload, YouTube videos, and websites you specifically link to. Google Search's version pulls from public web content. That can be good or bad, depending on what you look up. Something straightforward and scientific might be fine, but a discussion about the best movie ever might get a different audio track every time you look. Here's an example I recorded a clip from. It's hardly perfect, and while the voices are good, they are still AI voices. You also might notice it parroting phrases straight from someone's Reddit post. But it is listenable and, as Google points out, hands-free, with the option to adjust the speed of the speakers and the links there to provide more context. You can speed it up or slow it down, skip around, or follow the links as you go. It's AI-enhanced Search, not a new audiobook. For now, not every search will offer to create an Audio Overview. You also have to be in the U.S. and sign up for Labs right now. But, I'd expect it to have a general release pretty soon. Then you can ask how lithium-ion batteries work or why Roman concrete is still standing, and get a nice mini discussion from digital characters. Think of it as how video summaries and image carousels brought new dimensions to how we take in information online. Audio Overviews are another aspect of that and a win for auditory learners or people with visual impairments, With OpenAI and Perplexity and a dozen AI search engines nipping at its heels, Google needs whatever tricks it can muster to stand out and an AI podcast as the answer to a serach is definitely one way to be unique, at least for now.

Google Adds Button to Generate Error-Laden AI Podcast About Your Search Results Instead of Just Reading Them Like a Functioning Member of Society

Google has released a baffling new AI feature that turns your web search into a podcast. Why anybody would want to enable the feature is unclear. Why be plagued by misleading and hallucinated AI Overviews search results when you can have a robotic voice read them out loud instead? Have we really lost the ability as a species to parse written information, nevermind original sources? The opt-in feature -- which currently lives inside Google's experimental "Labs" section and has to be manually turned on -- harnesses the power of the company's Gemini AI model to turn a search query into "quick, conversational audio overviews." According to the tech giant, an "audio overview can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information whether you're multitasking or simply prefer an audio experience." But is this anything anybody really asked for? Having two fake podcast hosts rant about a subject you're researching -- likely with a smattering of hallucinations -- sounds like an incredibly counterintuitive and needlessly obtuse way to get quick access to information. The feature first surfaced last year as part of Google's NotebookLM, a note-taking tool that uses AI to help users organize their thoughts and summarize notes. An "Audio Overviews" feature can then take your notes and turn them into AI-generated podcasts, with often unintentionally hilarious results. While AI researchers have gushed over the feature, using it to turn Wikipedia pages into hours-long podcast episodes they allegedly listen to, we still can't shake the feeling that Google may be barking up the wrong tree. Particularly when it comes to search results, where speed has conventionally trumped anything else, turning AI summaries into rambling audio snippets sounds pretty exhausting. Besides, if Google's AI Overviews are anything to go by, the tech's propensity to make up facts is still enormous. The feature has been plaguing users with outright wrong and misleading information for quite some time now, with users desperately reaching out to Reddit to find ways to disable it. It's a sign of the times, with tech companies desperately looking for ways to shoehorn AI into every aspect of our digital lives to justify their enormous investments in the space. Soon we won't just be inundated with AI slop in text and image format; a fake podcast host could one day be talking your head off while you're simply trying to figure out the winner of the Pedro Pascal lookalike contest in Brooklyn.

My favorite AI tool just hit Google Search, and it's actually useful -- try it yourself

I've been using NotebookLM for months, now you can use its best feature straight from Google searches. Here's how. In the earlier days of the internet, the World Wide Web was awash with ways to wander its wares, but now we're all mostly content to rely on Google as our go-to guide for getting things done online. It's easy, it's practical, and, most importantly, it works. But trawling through Search results to find the answer you want (presented in a way that's easy to digest) can sometimes be a nightmare -- and we don't all have the spare time to risk falling down a rabbit hole of distractions that leads you from "What's a good idea for a casserole?" to "Is the moon hollow, and how worried should that make me?" So what if there was a way to quickly do all of that, sans the monotony of manually dragging your eyeballs through countless web pages? Well, there is. It's called Audio Overviews, and it's a new podcast-like feature found in Google Searches that can help explain complex topics, provide an engaging way to learn new things, and let you do other things while Google Gemini translates thousands of Search results into a bite-sized, custom podcast tailored to your questions. If you've ever found yourself staring blankly at a science paper titled Spectral Dispersion and Atmospheric Optics after Googling your 3 a.m. thoughts of "Why isn't pink found in rainbows?" and desperately wishing there was an episode of HowStuffWorks you could fall back on for an answer, Audio Overviews is your answer, and you can start using it right now in Google Labs. Since its launch in 1998, there have been several major changes to improve the Google Search experience, but it's largely stuck to the same process: you type in your search request, hit search, and browse through the results. Audio overviews bring something fresh to that experience, saving you the effort of trawling through results by using generative AI to compile a ton of useful information into a podcast-like audio snippet presented by two virtual hosts. It's a feature ripped straight from the playbook of my favorite AI tool, NotebookLM -- another Google service that makes for an excellent research aide, able to compile multiple sources of information into one easy-to-absorb document, or a similar AI-generated podcast snippet. It's thanks to NotebookLM that I was ever able to write about complex topics like Microsoft's Majora 1 quantum processor, with its inner workings being so alien and confusing to me that it stands as the only time in life that I've gained knowledge and felt ultimately more stupid afterwards. NotebookLM's Audio Overview feature gave me a crash course in quantum computing, helped me decipher the qubit, and ultimately served as an example of how to better deliver a complex topic to a curious mind. Better still, it did it through the casual conversation of two impressively engaging virtual podcast hosts, effortlessly dropping knowledge bombs and explainers in the background while I went about my workday as normal. Since then, I've been using NotebookLM to help me do the heavy lifting on topics I just don't have time in the day to fully dive into, and it's become an invaluable tool in my quest to convince strangers that I'm smart enough to have finished high school. Now, with Audio Overviews arriving on Google Search, even more of us can reap the benefits of Google's AI-generated learning aides, and all become a little better off for it, if not in smarts, at least in time spent searching for answers. You can test Audio Overviews in Google Search today by opting in to the experiment through Google Labs. Note, this feature is still in testing, and access is limited to Google Account owners in the United States.

Google turns internet queries into conversations

Google on Friday began letting people turn online searches into conversations, with generative artificial intelligence providing spoken summaries of query results. With Audio Overviews, Gemini AI models quickly sum up query results in conversational style, according to Google. "An audio overview can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information whether you're multitasking or simply prefer an audio experience," Google said in a blog post. "We display helpful web pages right within the audio player on the search results page so you can easily dive in and learn more." Google is beefing up online search with generative artificial intelligence, embracing AI despite fears for its ad-based business model. CEO Sundar Pichai recently unveiled a new AI mode in Google search. The search engine's nascent AI mode goes further than AI Overviews which display answers to queries from the tech giant's generative AI powers above the traditional blue links to websites and ads. Since Google debuted AI Overviews in search slightly more than a year ago, it has grown to more than 1.5 billion users across several countries, according to Pichai. Google's push into generative AI comes amid intensifying competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has itself incorporated search engine features into its popular chatbot.

Google turns internet queries into conversations

San Francisco (United States) (AFP) - Google on Friday began letting people turn online searches into conversations, with generative artificial intelligence providing spoken summaries of query results. With Audio Overviews, Gemini AI models quickly sum up query results in conversational style, according to Google. "An audio overview can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information whether you're multitasking or simply prefer an audio experience," Google said in a blog post. "We display helpful web pages right within the audio player on the search results page so you can easily dive in and learn more." Google is beefing up online search with generative artificial intelligence, embracing AI despite fears for its ad-based business model. CEO Sundar Pichai recently unveiled a new AI mode in Google search. The search engine's nascent AI mode goes further than AI Overviews which display answers to queries from the tech giant's generative AI powers above the traditional blue links to websites and ads. Since Google debuted AI Overviews in search slightly more than a year ago, it has grown to more than 1.5 billion users across several countries, according to Pichai. Google's push into generative AI comes amid intensifying competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has itself incorporated search engine features into its popular chatbot.

Google is experimenting with AI-generated podcast-like audio summaries at the top of its search results

Ever wanted to listen to Google search results like a podcast? Google just launched its most impressive (and unsettling) addition to AI Overview yet, a new feature called "Audio Overview" that generates audio summaries of search results, narrated in the style of two life-like, yet not quite human podcast hosts. Audio Overview is currently an opt-in Search Labs feature, meaning you won't see the option for it unless you toggle a switch in Search Labs. Right now it's only available in the U.S. and only generates English summaries. I tried out Audio Overview myself and the results weren't exactly what I was expecting. After you activate the feature in Search Labs, some Google searches will include an Audio Overview box, usually below the regular AI Overview and "People also ask" sections. You just tap the button to generate the audio summary and wait for it to finish processing. The audio clip you'll get is generated on the spot, so if you refresh the page and generate it again, it could end up being different. The summaries I generated ranged from 3 to 5 minutes long. All of them feature the same pair of AI-generated voices who go back and forth discussing whatever topic you searched, in the style of a podcast. The voices are admittedly significantly more lifelike than the robotic Siri sound I was expecting. There's tone changes, conversational word choices, seemingly natural language. It's not quite realistic, though. The two voices are like a pair of podcasters with zero rapport who seem like they're reading off a teleprompter. It's just shy of being lifelike but still lifelike enough that some people could be fooled at first. Google shows you which search results it used to generate the audio summary, so you can double-check whatever info your AI podcasters give you. However, they sound realistic enough that some people might just assume these are real people and take whatever they say as fact. Of course, that's also an issue with text AI summaries. There are some hiccups that give away that these aren't real people. For instance, in one of the summaries I got, one of the AI voices asks a question then immediately answers it herself, which sounded pretty awkward. Both voices use emotional language from time to time, like exclaiming "Wow!" at a fun fact, but it definitely sounds stiff and just shy of something a real person would say. The AI voices also mispronounce words once in a while, like "musk" instead of "must." Uncanny and eerie as this feature is, I can see it being helpful to some people, especially those who may have vision impairments, or otherwise rely on screen reading tools. The AI-generated voices sound pretty good for the fact that they're AI, too. That would be cool if it didn't come with a host of concerns around the spread of misinformation through AI and the threat AI-generated voices like this could pose to jobs like voice acting. Like any innovation in AI, Google's Audio Overviews are a double-edged sword and unfortunately I'm still more skeptical than impressed.

Google Will Now Use AI to Summarize Your Search Results As a Podcast

Khamosh Pathak is freelancer tech journalist with over 13 years of experience writing online. For Google, AI-generated podcasts are turning into quite a key feature. You can now generate a two-person AI podcast from a Deep Research report, or get a Daily Listen podcast that's generated from your Discover feed. Now, Google is planning to expand this feature to Google Search as well. Available as an experimental feature from Google Labs, this new option will help generate a short, 5-minute AI podcast based on your Google Search results. To access the new feature, head over to your Google Labs page using this link and find the Audio Overviews section. There, you can either enable this feature or join a waitlist, depending on where you're located. Unfortunately, while this is a global rollout, it's not happening all at once, as is the case with many new Google AI features. This new search feature is lifted almost straight from Gemini, which itself got it from NotebookLM. Called Audio Overviews, the original incarnation of this feature let you generate a 10-minute AI podcast episode on any topic, although the new version has a few additional limitations. When the feature is enabled in Google Search, you'll see a little prompt to "Generate Audio Overview" while you scroll through compatible search results. Which results are compatible is a bit vague at this point -- that's one of the limitations. You won't see it for simple questions like "what are some nearby cafés?" but it also won't work for overly complex topics, like researching investment trends across Asia (where you might be better off using Deep Research tools). Instead, Audio Overviews will kick in for queries that are somewhere in the middle. Let's say you want a quick refresher on a Lord of the Rings character, or to know which Japanese knives to get started with when upgrading your kitchen. Just make an appropriate Google search, click the Generate Audio Overview button, and search will kick into Gemini mode. After a wait of about 30-40 seconds, which is considerably less than Gemini's 2-5 minute wait time, you'll see your audio overview. It will be about five minutes, tops, so you'll get less detail than Gemini would give you, but it might be enough for a bird's-eye view on whatever you're searching for. The audio player for your AI podcast will stay put as you browse the results page, and it will show links to its sources as well. And if it's gotten something really wrong, you can give it a Thumbs Down. As is the case with any AI tool, it's important to point out that these are based on Large Language Models, which can sometimes hallucinate. So make sure to check the sources that the Audio Overviews feature provides you before repeating what it says elsewhere.

Google's New AI Feature Turns Search Results Into Podcasts

The feature is called Audio Overview, and it can only be accessed by opting in on Google's Search Labs page. According to Google, Audio Overview allows users to "listen to a concise conversation generated with AI, providing a preview of information from the top search results in response to your query, with links out to the web to explore more." Audio Overview is powered by Gemini, Google's family of AI models, and functions similarly to NotebookLM, Google's popular app that enables users to upload documents in order to generate a podcast conversation between two AI-powered voices. These artificial voices summarize and discuss the uploaded material, and can be directed to structure their conversation in specific formats, such as an audio FAQ or as a study guide. Google advertises NotebookLM as "your personalized AI research assistant." With Audio Overview, users don't need to upload documents to NotebookLM in order to generate a podcast. When you type a question into the Google search bar, a widget may appear in the results asking if you'd like to generate an Audio Overview. According to Google, the Audio Overview feature will activate when Google's systems "determine it might be useful." When asked "how are small businesses using AI," the Audio Overview generated a five-minute podcast in which the two AI voices discussed AI's ability to help people generate content, analyze market trends, and create targeted advertising campaigns.

You Can Now Listen to Search Results as a Podcast-Style AI Conversation

When the feature is available, a media player appears in a bottom sheet Google introduced a new experimental artificial intelligence (AI) feature in Search Labs on Friday. Dubbed Audio Overviews in Search, the feature generates short podcast-style AI audio conversations for certain search queries. The Mountain View-based tech giant says the feature is powered by one of the Gemini models, and it will automatically appear wherever its system determines Audio Overviews would be helpful. Notably, since it is an experimental feature, it is only available to select users at this time. In a blog post, the tech giant said that it has launched Audio Overviews as a new Search Labs experiment. Users who want to try it out will first have to enrol for Labs, and then activate the feature. Gadgets 360 staff members were not able to spot the feature, so it is likely being tested with a subset of the users. While the company did not mention it explicitly, the feature might only be available via the Google app. Audio Overviews were first introduced last year within the AI-powered note-taking platform, NotebookLM. The feature can generate a short audio conversation between two AI hosts, styled in the fashion of a podcast. The two hosts speak in a human-like manner and discuss various aspects of the topic. After NotebookLM, the tech giant also added the feature to the Gemini app recently. Now, with another expansion, Audio Overviews will be able to generate short audio discussions on certain search results in Google Search. The company is pitching the feature as a hands-free way to learn about unfamiliar topics while multitasking. Based on a screenshot shared by Google, when an eligible user types a search query for which audio conversations are available, they will see an option dubbed "Search Labs | Audio Overviews." The new box will also feature a basic media player with options for play/pause, volume controls, progress bar, and speeding up the audio. Underneath the media player, users can see the number of websites used to create the Audio Overview, as well as the list of individual pages. Google says users can tap on these web pages to learn more about the topic. Based on their experience, users can also thumbs up/down each audio discussion, as well as go to Search Labs to do the same for the entire experiment as a whole.

Google turns internet queries into conversations

Google on Friday began letting people turn online searches into conversations, with generative artificial intelligence providing spoken summaries of query results. Google is beefing up online search with generative artificial intelligence, embracing AI despite fears for its ad-based business model.Google on Friday began letting people turn online searches into conversations, with generative artificial intelligence providing spoken summaries of query results. With Audio Overviews, Gemini AI models quickly sum up query results in conversational style, according to Google. "An audio overview can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information whether you're multitasking or simply prefer an audio experience," Google said in a blog post. "We display helpful web pages right within the audio player on the search results page so you can easily dive in and learn more." Google is beefing up online search with generative artificial intelligence, embracing AI despite fears for its ad-based business model. CEO Sundar Pichai recently unveiled a new AI mode in Google search. The search engine's nascent AI mode goes further than AI Overviews which display answers to queries from the tech giant's generative AI powers above the traditional blue links to websites and ads. Since Google debuted AI Overviews in search slightly more than a year ago, it has grown to more than 1.5 billion users across several countries, according to Pichai. Google's push into generative AI comes amid intensifying competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has itself incorporated search engine features into its popular chatbot.

Google Is Testing AI-Generated Audio Overviews in Search Results

You need to enable the new search feature in Google Labs to access it. Google is rapidly integrating AI features into its products. This time, Google is bringing 'Audio Overviews', similar to NotebookLM's popular AI podcast feature on its search page. If you search for a long-tail topic, Google may offer a short AI-generated audio overview on the search page, which you can listen to understand the topic easily. This doesn't work for all search queries. If the system determines that your search query requires an audio overview, it's generated on the fly. For example, if you search "how do noise cancellation headphones work," Google will produce an audio overview (about 3-4 minutes), explaining the topic on the search page, just like NotebookLM's AI podcast, but shorter. Beneath the audio clip, you have the option to explore source pages where you can learn more about the topic. You can continue listening to the audio clip and work on other things. Increasingly, many people are preferring audio content to absorb information in a quick and hands-free way. Google says the feature is currently in an experimental state, and users have to manually turn it on from Google Labs. Do note that initially, it's available in a select few regions only. Google has also launched Portraits, an experimental AI feature that uses a digital avatar of an expert and Gemini to answer complex questions.

Google turns internet queries into conversations - VnExpress International

With Audio Overviews, Gemini AI models quickly sum up query results in conversational style, according to Google. "An audio overview can help you get a lay of the land, offering a convenient, hands-free way to absorb information whether you're multitasking or simply prefer an audio experience," Google said in a blog post. "We display helpful web pages right within the audio player on the search results page so you can easily dive in and learn more." Google is beefing up online search with generative artificial intelligence, embracing AI despite fears for its ad-based business model. CEO Sundar Pichai recently unveiled a new AI mode in Google search. The search engine's nascent AI mode goes further than AI Overviews which display answers to queries from the tech giant's generative AI powers above the traditional blue links to websites and ads. Since Google debuted AI Overviews in search slightly more than a year ago, it has grown to more than 1.5 billion users across several countries, according to Pichai. Google's push into generative AI comes amid intensifying competition with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which has itself incorporated search engine features into its popular chatbot.