Google is adding a handy little features to Slides. The new addition will let people automatically add captions to the presentations they create with this online tool. Using this nifty little addition, folks will be able to make their presentations much more available and accessible – say for those who have different abilities, or let’s say people who prefer to read while listening.
The feature is currently available for English, but the search engine giant is planning to roll it out for other languages as well. Interestingly, automatic captions were rolled out for YouTube a short while ago, so that might just have prompted Google to introduce something similar for slides.
For Google Slides, this feature has been introduced courtesy of the accessibility team that is also behind bringing improved screen readers, Braille and screen magnifier support to its Google suite of products including Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Interestingly, automated captions were conceptualized and created through an internal hackathon that took place within the tech company. This just goes to show exactly how important it is to promote creativity within the organization. Meanwhile, folks can activate this feature by pressing a newly available ‘CC’ button on the Slides navigation box.
Meanwhile, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon all have APIs that let people convert voice to text. And all of them are coming up with interesting ways of implementing it. Google’s latest addition is not a coup by any stretch of the imagination however, it will still be a nice-to-have for people who are using Google Slides to create presentations for work of personal purposes.
