As news consumption patterns change, Google launches audio streaming of news

As people take to podcasts and digital audio content, Google has launched audio news broadcasts. All a user needs to do is to ask Google Assistant to ‘Play the news’, and it begins streaming news. Google has tied up with global media houses such as BBC to provide content to users.

“We’re introducing Your News Update, a smarter way to listen to the news, hosted by the Google Assistant. When you say, ‘Hey Google, play me the news’ on any Assistant-enabled phone or smart speaker, Your News Update will begin with a mix of short news stories,” says Liz Gannes, Product Manager (News) at Google.

The news content is chosen at that moment, based on one’s interests, location, user history and preferences, as well as the top news stories at that point of time.