Google Docs can now read documents thanks to Gemini AI

The web version of Google Docs has a new audio summary feature that allows you to listen to the content of the text instead. The tool is integrated with the artificial intelligence system Gemini and has already begun to gradually spread among users of corporate and educational tariffs.

Listening to documents and short translations

To use the new feature, the user needs to open the web version of the service and go to the “Tools” section, where the “Audio” item has appeared. It provides a function for listening to the current tab, and a mode for listening to the short content of the document is expected to be launched in the near future. After activation, a built-in audio player with a timeline opens, allowing you to navigate through the recording and adjust the playback speed in the range from 0.5 to 2x. There is also a choice of voiceover voices with different intonations, including a neutral narration style and more expressive options.

The artificial intelligence system generates an audio transcription of a document, which can cover both individual pages and several tabs. As a rule, such a presentation takes several minutes and is presented in a conversational form, which simplifies the perception of the material. The developers assume that the function will be in demand when preparing for meetings, quickly familiarizing yourself with reports, and repeating notes without having to read the entire text.

Availability and development of Gemini functions

In the coming weeks, the audio summary in the web version of the document will be available to subscribers of corporate and educational tariffs, including Business and Enterprise packages, as well as users of additional AI modules for business and education. The expansion of functionality is taking place in parallel with the implementation of new features of the Gemini system in other Google services.

Among the announced innovations are tools for exporting dialogues from third-party artificial intelligence platforms, as well as an updated interface for working with incoming letters in Google Translate