Latest news with #AudioOverviews
Android Authority
a day ago
- Android Authority
Is Google secretly testing new AI voices in NotebookLM?
Andy Walker / Android Authority TL;DR NotebookLM users are hearing a mysterious third male voice during longer Audio Overviews. Google has confirmed that additional voices and dialects are coming, alongside APIs and video overviews, but it's unclear if this third voice is a feature or a bug. AI features can be quite a hit and miss, but Google's NotebookLM is definitely one of the hits. NotebookLM is a personal AI research assistant that lets users control the AI's data sources, enabling them to tap into AI to do their bidding without hallucinations. NotebookLM's Audio Overviews feature can transform your notes into a podcast, complete with two AI hosts discussing your data. The feature works great, but if you want some variety, a third AI host seems to be on the way. Reddit user Life_Machine_9694 (h/t XDA) observed a third male voice sprinkled in their Audio Overviews conversation, complementing the existing male and female voices currently running the AI podcast. Other users have also observed the same, especially when they attempt to create a longer-form podcast. One user notes this is a glitch; they have noticed more glitchy voices lately in Audio Overviews. Glitch or not, Google has promised that new voices and dialects are coming soon to NotebookLM, along with new source types, APIs, and even video overviews. It's fair to presume that Google is secretly testing out the new voices, but I reckon the company would do it openly if that were the case instead of giving users a fleeting sneak peek. If new voices are coming, it also makes sense that users would get the option to choose which ones they want in the Audio Overviews — some deep dive topics are best handled by two hosts, after all. We've asked Google to clarify whether this is a bug or a feature. We'll keep you updated when we learn more. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Here's why you should be excited about Audio Overviews coming to Google Search
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Google is testing the NotebookLM feature Audio Overviews in Search The feature will offer short, AI-generated audio summaries for certain queries. 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. One of my favorite AI tools is getting an iPhone app, and here's why you should install it I used NoteBookLM to help with productivity - here's 5 top tips to get the most from Google's AI audio tool Google will turn those long documents into your next favorite podcast I fed NotebookLM a 218-page research paper on string theory and the podcast results were mind-blowing
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Express Tribune
New Google feature offers podcast-style answers to search queries
Right now, Audio Overviews in Search is only available in English in the US. PHOTO: THE VERGE Listen to article Google is rolling out a test that puts its AI-powered Audio Overviews on the first page of search results on mobile. The experiment, which you can enable in Labs, will let you generate an AI podcast-style discussion for certain queries. If you search for something like, 'How do noise cancellation headphones work?', Google will display a button beneath the 'People also ask' module that says, 'Generate Audio Overview.' Once you click the button, it will take up to 40 seconds to generate an Audio Overview, according to Google. The completed Audio Overview will appear in a small player embedded within your search results, where you can play, pause, mute, and adjust the playback speed of the clip. Similar to Audio Overviews on NotebookLM and Gemini, this one also features two AI-generated 'hosts' who enthusiastically discuss the topic you want to learn more about. You'll also find links to some of the sources used by Audio Overview directly below the playback bar in Search. Right now, Audio Overviews in Search is only available in English in the US. Google has started putting Audio Overviews in more places since the tool launched last year, allowing users to generate audio discussions based on notes, Gemini's deep research, files in Google Docs, and more.
Malay Mail
14-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Google rolls out spoken AI summaries in search with new Audio Overviews feature
SAN FRANCISCO, June 14 — Google yesterday 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. — AFP
RNZ News
14-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Google turns internet queries into conversations
Photo: Unsplash Google is now 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. - AFP
