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Read-aloud itself is always available. The improved voice must be enabled by your organization admin.

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What is this feature?

Reading text on screens can be tiring, especially during long sessions. Voice Output provides text-to-speech playback directly in Playlab in your chosen language and your chosen accent, letting you listen to responses while multitasking, taking notes, or resting your eyes. This makes Playlab more accessible and flexible, supporting different learning preferences and enabling hands-free interaction.

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Two engines

Playlab reads responses aloud with one of two engines, and which you get depends on your organization. The browser engine needs no setup and sends nothing anywhere — your device generates the audio. The improved voice is off by default and has to be turned on by an admin, because producing that audio means sending the response text to a third party.
If the language, accent, and voice pickers below aren’t there, your organization hasn’t enabled the improved voice. You’ll still have your browser’s built-in voices.

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What is the Rationale for this feature?

Reading text on screens can be tiring, especially during long sessions or when working through complex information. Many people absorb information better through listening, and audio output enables hands-free interaction with AI. This creates opportunities for multitasking, accessibility for users with visual impairments or reading difficulties, and a more natural conversational experience. The Voice Output feature eliminates the need to read every response by providing text-to-speech playback directly in Playlab. Instead of being tied to your screen, you can listen to Playlab’s responses while taking notes, working on other tasks, or simply resting your eyes. The system provides audio with controls that give you complete control over how you consume information. This makes it easier to work with Playlab in a more flexible, accessible way that adapts to your needs and preferences.

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How to Use Voice Output

1

Select your language.

There are many languages to choose from. 
The language picker for voice output, listing the available languages
2

Choose your Accent

There are also many accents to choose from within a given language. 
The accent picker, showing the accents available for the selected language
3

Choose your voice.

Within a given language and accent there are multiple options for the voice itself. 
The voice picker, showing the voices available for the selected language and accent
4

Start Audio Playback

Click Read aloud under a response. While it plays, the button changes to Stop.
5

Stop or Restart

Click Stop to end playback. Click Read aloud again to have it start from the beginning.

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Best Practices

For the best experience and to avoid disturbing others, consider using headphones when using voice output in shared spaces, classrooms, or public environments. This also provides better audio quality and helps you focus on the content.
For educational content or when learning new concepts, consider following along with the text while listening. This helps reinforce understanding through both visual and auditory channels.
Voice output is particularly valuable for lengthy responses where reading might be fatiguing. This allows you to absorb detailed information while remaining comfortable and potentially multitasking.
When used together with voice input, you can create a fully conversational voice experience with Playlab. Speak your questions and listen to responses for a hands-free interaction that feels natural and intuitive.

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Known Issues

As this feature is currently in beta, there are a few known limitations to be aware of:
Issue: For extremely long responses (several paragraphs or more), there may be a brief delay before audio playback begins as the system processes the text.Workaround: The delay is typically only a few seconds. You can start reading the text while waiting for audio to begin, and playback will start automatically once processing is complete.
Issue: When responses contain code snippets or technical formatting, the text-to-speech may pronounce elements in ways that sound awkward or are difficult to follow audibly.Workaround: For code-heavy responses, consider reading the text visually while using voice output for surrounding explanatory text. You can also pause playback during code sections.
Issue: Complex mathematical equations or special notation may not be read in the most intuitive way by the text-to-speech system.Workaround: For responses with heavy mathematical content, visual reading is recommended. Voice output works best for conceptual explanations and general text.

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Privacy & Security

Your privacy and security are our top priority. Here’s what you should know about voice output:
  • Browser voice: sends nothing anywhere. Your device generates the audio locally.
  • External Processing: Improved Voice output uses Elevenlabs to generate the audio.
  • No Data Storage: We have a Zero Data Retention agreement with Elevenlabs. While they will receive the text your AI generated in order to produce audio, neither the text nor the audio is stored by them, or used in training their models.
  • Under 13 Use: We recommend disabling this feature if your organization has students under age 13 using Playlab.
  • Control: You have complete control over when audio plays. Voice output only activates when you explicitly click the speaker icon.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Elevenlabs voice integration sounds very natural. Give it a try!
There are many different voices available in various languages and accents within a given language. 
  • ARA Arabic
  • BUL Bulgarian
  • CMN Chinese
  • HRV Croatian
  • CES Czech
  • DAN Danish
  • NLD Dutch
  • ENG English
  • FIL Filipino
  • FIN Finnish
  • FRA French
  • DEU German
  • ELL Greek
  • HUN Hungarian
  • HIN Hindi
  • IND Indonesian
  • ITA Italian
  • JPN Japanese
  • KOR Korean
  • MSA Malay
  • NOR Norwegian
  • POL Polish
  • POR Portuguese
  • RON Romanian
  • RUS Russian
  • SLK Slovak
  • SPA Spanish
  • SWE Swedish
  • TAM Tamil
  • TUR Turkish
  • UKR Ukrainian
  • VIE Vietnamese
Yes, you can control playback speed from the menu at the top of the page.
Currently you are unable to skip to specific parts of a response.
Voice output works best with standard text responses. It handles most content well, though some elements like code blocks, complex mathematical notation, or heavily formatted content may sound less natural when read aloud.
Yes, voice output is available on mobile devices.
No, only one response can play audio at a time. Starting playback on a new response will automatically stop any currently playing audio.

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We Want Your Feedback!

Thank you for trying out Voice Output in Playlab. We’re continuously working to improve the voice quality, reliability, and user experience of this feature. If you have feedback or if there are additional language you’d like to see supported please email us. Contact us at [email protected]
Last updated: 03-15-2026