About Audio

Text-to-speech allows you to listen to stories on Medium, voiced by a computer-generated voice.

You must have a Medium account with an active membership subscription in order to listen to stories. Learn more about becoming a Medium member.

To listen to a story, click the Listen button above the story title.

Once you press Listen, you will see a pop-up window in the bottom-right corner where you can pause, play, rewind the recording. Additionally, you can:

Click the Voice button to pick one of several AI voices available.
Click the Playback speed button to adjust the speed.

To listen to a story, click the Listen button at the top of the screen.

Once you press Listen, you will see a pop-up window in the bottom-right corner where you can pause, play, rewind the recording. Additionally, you can:

Click the Voice button to pick one of several AI voices available.
Click the Playback speed button to adjust the speed.

Common questions

Why don’t I see the Listen button on a story?

The feature currently only supports English text, so the Listen button may not appear if the post is not written in English.

Can I narrate my own stories?

At this time it's not possible to narrate your own stories, but we're listening to feedback and might consider adding this feature in the future.

Can I listen to my story while it's still a draft?

Yes. While you can’t listen to your draft while editing your story, you can open your story using your draft link to be able to listen to it.

Can I disable this feature on my stories?

Not currently. We believe that text to speech will help more people gain access to great writing on Medium.

Will I be able to see how many people listened to my stories, or who listened?

Not yet, but we’ll be working to update the Medium stats accordingly.

How will this feature affect my earnings in the Partner Program?

Medium will factor listen time into the payout calculations during this experiment for eligible writers with metered stories. Eligible writers whose posts have been listened to will see a positive adjustment in their earnings after the end of the month. The adjustment will appear as a one-time engagement bonus.

Learn more about calculating earnings in the Partner Program.