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I work with a lot of documents in Google Docs, and I often ask the built-in Gemini AI to summarize a specific document for me. The text-based summary is typically short and concise, so it's easy enough to read. But sometimes I'd just like to sit back and listen to a summary read aloud to me. With a new skill in Google Docs, I can do just that.
The “Listen to document summary” feature taps into Gemini to generate a summary of your current document and then read it to you. With a floating and moveable mini player, you can pause and restart the reading, increase or decrease the playback speed, and switch among different voices. I find this to be a time saver as I can listen to the summary while doing other things or just while relaxing.
“Audio summaries provide a short verbal synopsis of the contents in your document, including multiple tabs,” Google said in a Feb. 12 blog post announcing the new feature. “These summaries are typically under a few minutes long, and use a natural speaking style to help you catch up quickly and efficiently.”
The only downside is that the audio summary skill isn't available for all Google users. To qualify, you must have a paid subscription to one of the following plans:
- Business Standard and Plus
- Enterprise Standard and Plus
- Google AI Ultra for Business add-on
- Google AI Pro for Education add-on
- Google AI Pro and Ultra
At this point, the new skill is also still in the process of rolling out. I had to wait almost a week after its official debut before it landed in my Google Docs. If you don't yet have access to it and you have the right type of plan, just be patient; it should arrive soon.
With all that in mind, here's how this works.
Sign in to the Google Docs website using your favorite browser. Open a document for which you'd like to hear an AI-powered summary. Click the Tools menu and move to the Audio command. If the audio summary feature has arrived for you, an option for “Listen to document summary” appears, which you should then select.
The default voice immediately starts reading the summary aloud. The mini player pops up to show you how long the entire summary will run. Drag the player by the icon with the six dots to move it around the screen. To control the playback, pause and then restart the reading. You can also jump forward or backward in the audio by moving the scrubber on the slider bar.
Next, you're able to change the speed at which the audio runs. To do this, click the 1X button on the player. From the menu, you can switch the speed to 0.5, 0.7, 1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.7, or 2.
Don't like the current voice reading the summary? You can swap it out for a different one. Click the three-dot icon on the player and select “Change voice.” A list of voices then pops up with such labels as Educator, Narrator, Teacher, Persuader, Explainer, Coach, and Motivator. Click the Play button next to each voice to here how it sounds. When you find one you like, click the Select button. You're then returned to the audio where the playback restarts at the beginning.
