Google Assistant can read webpages aloud on your Android phone, but it doesn't filter out any text. This can be inconvenient if you want to save time and avoid unnecessary details. You can adjust the reading speed, but that's not a perfect solution. A new feature on the voice assistant might change that. According to 9to5Google, which analysed the code for version 14.29 of the main Google app on the Play Store, Assistant will soon be able to summarise the content on a webpage using generative AI. This way, you can get the main points without the distractions. With this feature, you can ask Assistant to summarise any web page you are viewing on Chrome or an in-app browser (which usually runs on Chrome too). Just use the hotword and tap the Summarise button next to the Read shortcut, or say “summarise this.” However, this feature is not working yet - trying to use it throws an error message saying that Assistant is unable to handle the request. 9to5Google thinks that the tool could work on any page, not just articles. It also seems to be limited to Chrome for now, but it might support other browsers later. There is no information on when this feature will roll out, but it could be exclusive to Pixel devices at first, like other generative AI features from Google. Google already offers summarisation with its Bard chatbot and on Google Docs, but this feature would make it more widely available.
