How to use Chrome read aloud on Mac

Short answerRight-click the page and choose Open in reading mode (or press Command-Option-R), then press Play at the top of the reading panel. Settings there let you choose a voice, playback speed and word or sentence highlight. Google notes reading mode doesn't work on every page, such as forms or video sites. macOS Speak Selection also works on selected text, and Aloud reads the front Chrome tab's article with Control-Option-A.

The free built-in fix

1. Open reading mode. Right-click the page → Open in reading mode, or press Command-Option-R.
2. Press Play. At the top right of the reading panel.
3. Pick voice and speed. Settings → Voice selection; Playback speed next to Play.
4. Choose highlighting. Settings → Voice highlight: Adaptive, Word, Sentence or Off.

The better fix: Aloud

If the built-in tools keep getting in your way, Aloud (ours, $19 once per Mac, macOS 14 or later) is made for this:

• Control-Option-A reads the front Chrome tab's article without menus and ads.
• A reading window with a word highlight and click-to-seek, so you can jump to any sentence.
• Speed from 0.75x to 2x, changed mid-sentence, and resume from the last sentence.
• Natural voices: your Mac's Enhanced and Premium voices, the on-device Kokoro neural voice (Apple silicon, macOS 15+), or ElevenLabs/Cartesia with your own API key.
• .m4a export.

Buy Aloud, $19 once   Launch offer: code LAUNCH25 takes 25% off until Oct 31. 3-day free trial, no card or account.