The web browser's built-in reading mode helps organize web pages and read articles without ads or popups. Many popular browsers had this feature early on, but Chrome was the latest browser to add it.
Google is constantly adding more features to Read Mode as it tests Chrome's useful read-aloud
option. The feature basically reads the entire article as if you were listening to an audiobook, with text-to-speech functionality.
Many browsers and apps (such as Pocket) have this feature, but Google is now bringing it to Chrome via the Chrome Canary channel.
Now when you open an article in reading view in Chrome Canary on the desktop, you'll see a new option to click the play button over an article in reading view to have Google read the article out loud.
Narration has become very automatic, just as it was in the early days of text-to-speech, and Google offers several natural language models.
Chrome's read-aloud feature is rudimentary in its current state, which is a clear indication that it's still in the early stages of development and may take some time to get up and running.
Other browsers allow you to change the speaking rate, fast-forward articles, and even change the voice. Microsoft Edge browser offers a long list of natural pronunciations for English and different regional languages.
Chrome doesn't currently offer such an option, but there's nothing stopping Google from releasing a fully functional version of Read Aloud in the future.
Given Google's natural text-to-speech capabilities in different languages, the built-in read-aloud feature is ideal for users who prefer to absorb information through speech.
For now, you can use a Chrome extension to add the read-aloud feature until the company makes it official.