How to have Google Docs read aloud on a Mac

Short answerSelect the text in Google Docs and press Option-Esc with Speak Selection on. If macOS can't see the selection (Docs draws its own text), turn on Docs' Tools → Accessibility → Turn on screen reader support, or copy the text into TextEdit and use Edit → Speech → Start Speaking. Aloud reads selected text with Control-Option-S and can read text on screen with Control-Option-O.

The free built-in fix

1. Try Speak Selection. Select text in the document and press Option-Esc.
2. Turn on screen reader support. In Google Docs choose Tools → Accessibility and turn on screen reader support, which exposes the text to macOS.
3. Copy into TextEdit. Copy the text, paste it into TextEdit and choose Edit → Speech → Start Speaking.
4. Proofread by ear. Listening catches missing words and clumsy sentences you skip when reading.

For proofreading tips, see how to proofread by listening on a Mac.

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:

• Select text in any app and press Control-Option-S (or right-click → Services → Read with Aloud).
• Control-Option-O reads text on screen with on-device recognition when a web app won't pass the selection.
• 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.
• Private by default: with Apple or Kokoro voices nothing leaves your Mac; no account, no analytics in the app.

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