Now Listen To Webpages Using Google Chrome Browser In Two Simple Steps: Here's How

Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google has added a new feature to its Chrome browser, “Listen to this page,” which enables the browser to read webpages aloud to users.

What Happened: According to an update on Google's support pages, the new feature comes with playback controls similar to those found in music or podcast players, allowing users to pause, adjust the reading speed, and skip forward or backward by 10 seconds.

The feature supports multiple languages, including English, French, German, Arabic, Hindi, and Spanish, and users can customize the voice and language used. 

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How To Read Webpages Aloud In Google Chrome

To read webpages aloud in the Google Chrome browser, here’s what you need to do:

• Navigate to a text-heavy webpage and tap the three dots menu.
• Now select the “Listen to this page” option from the list.
• Users can continue browsing the current website or switch to different tabs while listening to the text.
• The audio will keep playing even if the screen is locked.

The update also noted that “Listen to this page” isn’t available on all websites. If a page can’t be played back, the “Listen to this page” option won’t appear in the overflow menu.

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Why It Matters: The feature is a direct competitor to Apple Inc.’s AAPL Siri, which has a similar feature that reads webpages aloud in the Safari app. 

Apple introduced a new Siri feature in iOS 17 that allowed the virtual assistant to read web articles aloud to users like an audiobook, even when the device is locked.

How To Read Webpages Aloud On iPhone Using Siri

• To listen to a webpage, open the Safari app on your iPhone and navigate to the desired page.
• Then, either tap the Page Settings button and select “Listen to Page,” or activate Siri and say a command such as “Read this” or “I want to listen to this page.”

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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