A guide to text-to-speech, the popular accessibility feature that lets your computer, phone, or tablet read to you

There are many different types of text-to-speech.Shutterstock

• Text-to-speech (TTS) is a popular feature that lets your computer or phone read text aloud to you.
• Text-to-speech is commonly used as an accessibility feature to help people who have trouble reading on-screen text, but it's also convenient for those who want to be read to.
• You can find text-to-speech features in many places today, including ebook readers, word processors, internet browsers, and more.

Text-to-speech, sometimes abbreviated as TTS, is a feature on your computer or phone that reads on-screen text aloud to you.

Depending on how it's used, text-to-speech can be a convenience feature, or an accessibility feature that helps people who need additional assistance to hear text that's printed on-screen.

Though TTS systems rely on a computerized voice speaking to you, in recent years these voices have become much more natural sounding. Many modern TTS voices are almost indistinguishable from humans, and some even incorporate natural human inflections to make them sound more lifelike.