Google is testing AI-powered audio overviews in search results
It’s another sign that search isn’t just about keywords anymore; it’s about conversations
With the introduction and infusion of AI in everything now, tech has arguably been evolving quite fast. It has slowly moved from being just a behind-the-scenes tool to becoming the interface itself. We’ve gone from chatbots barely stringing together coherent sentences to AI agents having full-blown podcast conversations, helping people study, think, and even unwind.
As this wave of accessibility-focused innovation spreads, Google Search is now getting its own audio twist.
As part of a new experiment in Search Labs, Google is testing a feature called Audio Overviews. It takes what AI Overviews already do, giving quick summaries for complex search queries, and turns them into short, podcast-style clips. Instead of reading the summary, you can now listen to two AI voices talk through the topic like a casual conversation.
The voices are powered by Google’s Gemini AI models, and you don’t need to do much to trigger them, just search for a topic that Google deems “audio-worthy.” If available, you’ll see a prompt that says “Search Labs | Audio Overviews”, complete with a mini audio player where you can play, pause, control volume, and even speed up the audio.
It takes about 40 seconds to generate the audio clip, and you’ll also see a list of the sources used to build the summary. Think of it like an AI podcast episode made just for you, on demand.
The idea isn’t entirely new. Audio Overviews debuted in NotebookLM, Google’s AI-powered note-taking app, where they helped users digest entire documents like PDFs by turning them into spoken summaries. The same tech was later added to the Gemini app, and now it’s being ported into Google Search. It’s anyone’s guess what might get the audio treatment next. Emails? YouTube comments?
Video Credit: TechRadar
Either way, this doesn't feel like just a gimmick. Google has reported that more than 1.5 billion users monthly across over 100 countries, so if this trend continues, Audio Overviews might become the go-to learning tool for users who want hands-free answers while driving, cooking, or just avoiding screen time.
That said, the feature is still in early testing and only available to a limited number of users via Search Labs. But it’s another sign that search isn’t just about keywords anymore, it’s about conversations, even if they’re AI-generated.
