Google continues integrating artificial intelligence across its productivity suite with a new feature for Drive users. The company announced Audio Overviews, which transform lengthy PDF documents into conversational podcast-style audio summaries.
This innovation provides an alternative method for consuming text-heavy documents in an audio format. The feature represents part of the expanding Gemini for Google Workspace ecosystem and requires a paid subscription.
The Audio Overviews functionality builds upon technology originally developed for NotebookLM. That platform introduced podcast-style audio conversions last year, allowing users to transform sources into discussions between AI hosts. The feature’s popularity prompted Google to expand it to Gemini before arriving in Workspace. The latest iteration maintains the interactive elements that made the original implementation successful.
Currently, the audio generation capability works exclusively on the desktop version of Google Drive. Users will notice a new waveform icon in the navigation bar when opening PDF files. Activating the feature prompts Gemini to analyse the document and create an audio summary. The processing requires several minutes, after which users receive an email notification of completion.
Gemini in Google Drive can now make Audio Overviews of PDFs https://t.co/gfiroQwf8q by @technacity
— 9to5Google (@9to5Google) November 11, 2025Once generated, these audio overviews become accessible through mobile applications. This cross-platform availability enhances the feature’s utility for users who switch between devices.
The initial implementation carries several restrictions that may affect user adoption. Most notably, the feature currently supports only English-language documents. Google’s AI automatically determines the audio length based on document content. The system generates summaries ranging from two to ten minutes in duration.
Read: Google Warns of a Sharp Rise in Convincing AI-Powered Scams
Although it is a Workspace feature, Google hasn’t incorporated administrative controls for this functionality. This omission may concern organisations requiring management oversight of AI tools. The Audio Overviews feature is targeted at premium Workspace subscribers rather than individual users. Access is available for Business Standard and Plus plans, as well as Enterprise Standard and Plus tiers.
Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers also qualify for the feature. Educational institutions with Google AI Pro for Education subscriptions can utilise the tool alongside business users with Ultra for Business plans.
