Google Introduces New AI Feature Providing Voice-Based Summaries of Search Results, Expanding the Search Labs Experimental Platform
Google launched testing of Audio Overviews on its Search Labs platform on June 13, 2025, allowing users to listen to brief voice summaries of search results rather than reading them on screen. This feature extends the company's AI-generated overviews first introduced in 2023 and now enables users to keep their hands and eyes free for other activities. The new service is currently available in English in the United States for users enrolled in Google's Search Labs programme, with expansion to additional languages and regions expected in the coming weeks.
Audio Overviews builds upon AI Overviews, which Google reports serves more than 1 billion users daily worldwide. To access the feature, users need to tap the headphone icon that appears next to the AI overview of search results on mobile devices. Rania Cheng, Director of Product Management for Search, states that the new functionality is particularly useful when users are busy or on the go. Audio Overviews are especially suitable for complex queries such as "how to tell poisonous mushrooms from edible ones," where the audio format can help users better grasp and remember critical information.
Google says Audio Overviews utilises the company's multimodal AI models that can combine text, images, and sound to provide relevant and helpful information. The announcement of the new feature came one month after Google unveiled its new Gemini Flash 1.5 AI model and Veo multimodal model at its I/O developer conference in 2025. Audio Overviews forms part of Google's strategy to enhance its search services with AI amid growing competition, particularly from companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic. Search Labs users can provide feedback on the feature through the Labs app, which may influence future development of the service.
Sources:
Aisha Malik
Matt G. Southern
