google presentations api

Introducing the Google Slides API

Wesley chun.

Developer Advocate, Google Cloud

At Google I/O 2016, we gave developers a preview of the Google Slides API. Since then, the gears have been cranking at full speed, and we've been working with various early-access partners and developers to showcase what you can do with it. Today, we're happy to announce that the Slides API v1 is now generally available and represents the first time that developers have ever been able to programmatically access Slides! The Slides API breaks new ground, changing the way that presentations are created. No longer do they require manual creation by users on their desktops or mobile devices. Business data on inventory items like retail merchandise, homes/property, hotels/lodging, restaurants/menus, venues/events, and other "cataloged" assets can be instantly turned into presentations based on pre-existing slide templates. Traditionally, the sheer amount of data (and of course time[!]) that went into creating these slide decks made it unwieldy if done by hand. Applications leveraging the API can easily generate presentations like these, customized as desired, and in short order. Developers use the API by crafting a JSON payload for each request. (We recommend you batch multiple commands together to send to the API.) You can think of these as actions one can perform from the Slides user interface but available programmatically. To give you an idea of how the new API works, here are what some requests look like for several common operations:

If you're interested in seeing what developers have already built using the API, take a look at our initial set of partner integrations by Conga, Trello, Lucidchart, Zapier and more, as described in detail in our G Suite blog post .

To help you get started, check out the DevByte above from our new series dedicated to G Suite developers. In the video, we demonstrate how to take "variables" or placeholders in a template deck and use the API to generate new decks replacing those proxies with the desired text or image. Want to dive deeper into its code sample? Check out this blogpost . If you're not a Python developer, it'll be your pseudocode as you can use any language supported by the Google APIs Client Libraries . Regardless of your development environment, you can use similar "scaffolding" to generate many presentations with varying content for your users. Stay tuned for more videos that highlight other Slides API features. The Slides API is available to projects in your Google Developers console today. Developers can find out more in the official documentation which features an API overview plus Quickstarts , sample code in multiple languages and environments, to bootstrap your next project. We look forward to seeing all the amazing slide deck generating applications you build with our first ever API!

• Application Development
• Workspace Developers

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Build data-rich presentations in seconds with integrated apps and the Slides API

Nov 09, 2016

[[read-time]] min read

Presentations are a staple in business communication. When done right, they help tell a story that can captivate, persuade, or inspire audiences. But crafting that story can be tedious, especially if you’re constantly flipping between screens to copy and paste charts, images, or figures into your slides.

If only there was an API for that….

Today, we’re announcing the general availability of the Google Slides API which gives developers programmatic access to create and update presentations in Slides from any data source. We previewed the Slides API at I/O earlier this year to change how business presentations are built. Now, your teams can use a number of ready-to-go integrations to turn your business data into presentations, with just a click.

Build beautiful, up-to-date presentations in seconds using Conga, Trello, Lucidchart and Zapier

Whether you’re looking to populate a quarterly business review (QBR) deck, add specs for weekly design review slides, or refresh event registration data for your daily update, the third-party apps below let you quickly and easily build beautiful, data-rich presentations.

• Generate your next QBR deck with Conga : Conga makes document creation and reporting for Salesforce easy. With its Slides API integration you can create a quarterly business review presentation in Slides from your standard Salesforce Account records in seconds. Read more here .
• Create vivid project updates with Trello : Trello helps you organize and prioritize project information in highly visual ways. With its Slide API integration, you can turn any Trello board or set of cards into a Slides presentation with just a click. Read more here .
• Review complex visualizations with Lucidchart : Lucidchart helps you create complex diagrams and visuals easily. With its Slides API integration you can export flowcharts, mockups, and other such visuals, break them into slides to cover specifics in more detail, and rapidly iterate on the content. You can find Lucidchart on the G Suite Marketplace and read more about the integration here .
• Create and respond to custom proposals requests with Zapier : Zapier lets you create and automate business workflows. With its Slides API integration you can create, collaborate, and share dynamic presentations using Slides with just a few workflow rules. You can get started with the Slides integration on Zapier or learn more about it here .

All of these app integrations are available to try today — and this is just the beginning. We’re working with many other software vendors, including ProsperWorks , AODocs and Form Publisher to help you do more in less time in all sorts of ways.

Developers can start using the Slides API today. Documentation and demos are available at developers.google.com/slides and they can read more about it here .

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• Português – Brasil

Generate Google Slides presentations from Big Data in Node.js

1. overview.

In this codelab, you'll learn how you can use Google Slides as a custom presentation tool for an analysis of the most common software licenses. You'll be querying all open source code on GitHub using the BigQuery API and creating a slide deck using Google Slides API to present your results. The sample application is built using Node.js, but the same basic principles are applicable to any architecture.

What you'll learn

• Creating presentations using the Slides API
• Using BigQuery to gain insights into a large dataset
• Copying a file using the Google Drive API

What you'll need

• Node.js installed
• Access to the internet and a web browser
• A Google account
• A Google Cloud Platform Project

2. Get the sample code

You can either download all the sample code to your computer...

file_download Download zip

...or clone the GitHub repository from the command line.

The repository contains a set of directories representing each step along the process, in case you need to reference a working version.

You'll be working off the copy located in the start directory, but you can refer to, or copy files from, the others as needed.

3. Run the sample app

First, let's get the Node script up and running. With the code downloaded, follow the instructions below to install and start the Node.js application:

• Open a command line terminal on your computer and navigate to the codelab's start directory.
• Enter the following command to install the Node.js dependencies.
• Enter the following command to run the script:
• Observe the greeting that shows the steps for this project.

You can see our list of TODOs in slides.js , license.js , and auth.js . Note that we use JavaScript Promises to chain the steps needed to complete the app since each step is dependant on the previous step being completed.

If you're not familiar with promises, don't worry, we'll provide all the code you'll need. In short, promises give us a way to handle asynchronous processing in a more synchronous fashion.

4. Get Client Secrets

To use the Slides, Bigquery, and Drive APIs, we'll create an OAuth Client and a Service Account.

Setup Google Developers Console

• Use this wizard to create or select a project in the Google Developers Console and automatically turn on the API. Click Continue , then Go to credentials .
• On the Add credentials to your project page, click the Cancel button.
• At the top of the page, select the OAuth consent screen tab. Select an Email address , enter Product name Slides API Codelab , and click the Save button.

Enable BigQuery, Drive, and Slides APIs

• Select the Dashboard tab, click the Enable API button and enable the following 3 APIs:
• BigQuery API
• Google Drive API
• Google Slides API

Download OAuth Client Secret (for Slides and Drive)

• Select the Credentials tab, click the Create credentials button and select OAuth client ID .
• Select the application type Other , enter the name Google Slides API Codelab , and click the Create button.Click OK to dismiss the resulting dialog.
• Click the file_download (Download JSON) button to the right of the client ID.
• Rename your secret file to client_secret.json and copy it into both the start/ and finish/ directories.

Download Service Account Secret (for BigQuery)

• Select the Credentials tab, click the Create credentials button and select Service account key .
• In the dropdown, select New Service Account . Choose name Slides API Codelab Service for your service. Then click Role and scroll to BigQuery and select both BigQuery Data Viewer and BigQuery Job User .
• For the Key type , select JSON .
• Click Create . The key file will be automatically downloaded to your computer. Click Close to exit the dialog that appears.
• Rename your secret file to service_account_secret.json and copy it into both the start/ and finish/ directories.

Get Client Secrets

In start/auth.js , let's fill out the method getClientSecrets .

We now have loaded the client secrets. The credentials will be passed to the next promise. Run the project with node . to make sure there are no errors.

5. Create an OAuth2 Client

To create slides, let's add authentication to Google APIs by adding the following code to our auth.js file. This authentication will request access to your Google Account to read and write files in Google Drive, create presentations in Google Slides, and execute read-only queries from Google BigQuery. (Note: We didn't change getClientSecrets )

6. Setup BigQuery

Explore bigquery (optional).

BigQuery allows us to query massive datasets in seconds. Let's use the web interface before querying programmatically. If you've never set up BigQuery before, follow the steps in this quickstart .

Open the Cloud Console to browse the GitHub data available in BigQuery and run your own queries. Let's find out the most popular software licences on GitHub by writing this query and pressing the Run button.

bigquery.sql

We just analyzed millions of public repos on GitHub and found out the most popular licenses. Cool! Now let's setup running the same query, but this time programmatically.

Setup BigQuery

Replace the code in the file license.js . The function bigquery.query will return a promise .

license **.js**

Try to console.log some of the data inside our Promise's callback to understand the structure of our objects and see the code work in action.

7. Create Slides

Now for the fun part! Let's create slides by calling the Slides API's create and batchUpdate methods. Our file should be replaced with the following:

8. Open Slides

Lastly, let's open the presentation in the browser. Update the following method in slides.js .

Run your project one last time to show the final result.

9. Congratulations!

You've successfully generated Google Slides from data analyzed using BigQuery. Your script creates a presentation using the Google Slides API and BigQuery to report an analysis of the most common software licenses.

Possible Improvements

Here are some additional ideas for making an even more compelling integration:

• Add images to each slide
• Share your slides via email using the Gmail API
• Customize the template slide as a command line argument
• Read the Google Slides API developer documentation .
• Post questions and find answers on Stack Overflow under the google-slides-api tag .

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License , and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License . For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies . Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Formatting text with the Google Slides API

Wesley chun.

Developer Advocate, Google Cloud

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It's common knowledge that presentations utilize a set of images to impart ideas to the audience. As a result, one of the best practices for creating great slide decks is to minimize the overall amount of text. It means that if you do have text in a presentation, the (few) words you use must have higher impact and be visually appealing. This is even more true when the slides are generated by a software application, say using the Google Slides API , rather than being crafted by hand.

The G Suite team recently launched the first Slides API, opening up a whole new category of applications. Since then, we've published several videos to help you realize some of those possibilities, showing you how to replace text and images in slides as well as how to generate slides from spreadsheet data . To round out this trifecta of key API use cases, we're adding text formatting to the conversation.

Developers manipulate text in Google Slides by sending API requests. Similar to the Google Sheets API , these requests come in the form of JSON payloads sent to the API's batchUpdate() method. Here's the JavaScript for inserting text in some shape ( shapeID ) on a slide:

In the video, developers learn that writing text, such as the request above, is less complex than reading or formatting because both the latter require developers to know how text on a slide is structured. Notice for writing that just the copy, and optionally an index, are all that's required. (That index defaults to zero if not provided.)

Assuming "Hello World!" has been successfully inserted in a shape on a slide, a request to bold just the "Hello" looks like this:

If you've got at least one request, like the ones above, in an array named requests , you'd ask the API to execute them with just one call to the API, which in Python looks like this (assuming SLIDES is your service endpoint and the slide deck ID is deckID ) :

To better understand text structure & styling in Google Slides, check out the text concepts guide in the documentation. For a detailed look at the complete code sample featured in the DevByte, check out the deep dive post . To see more samples for common API operations, take a look at this page . We hope the videos and all these developer resources help you create that next great app that automates producing highly impactful presentations for your users!

• Developers and Practitioners

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Google Slides API . presentations . pages

Instance methods.

Close httplib2 connections.

get(presentationId, pageObjectId, x__xgafv=None)

Gets the latest version of the specified page in the presentation.

getThumbnail(presentationId, pageObjectId, thumbnailProperties_mimeType=None, thumbnailProperties_thumbnailSize=None, x__xgafv=None)

Generates a thumbnail of the latest version of the specified page in the presentation and returns a URL to the thumbnail image. This request counts as an [expensive read request](/slides/limits) for quota purposes.

Method Details

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Provide feedback.

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To see all available qualifiers, see our documentation .

google-slides-api

Google Slides is a presentation program included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The app is compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint file formats.

Other resources

• Read the API documentation at https://developers.google.com/slides
• Access the application at https://slides.google.com

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Convert Figma frames into a Google Slides presentation 🍭

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SlideAI is an automatic powerpoint presentation maker for projects built using OpenAI and Bing API

• Updated May 28, 2023

googlecodelabs / bigquery-sheets-slides

Code repo for the Google Apps Script BigQuery-Sheets-Slides codelab application

• Updated Aug 25, 2018

condad / google-objects-python

Wraps google-api-python-client for pythonic Google API interaction.

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Google Scripts web-app that generates a Google Slides presentation from a list of words. The script automatically fetches an image for each word from the Qwant API. Designed to save teachers a little time.

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Use Google's Slides API to automate show layout

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Created by Google

Related Topics

src/apis/slides/v1.ts

Description

Google Slides API

Reads and writes Google Slides presentations.

Constructor

Result-matching " ", no results matching " ".

Cloud Storage

Custom Business Email

Video and voice conferencing

Shared Calendars

Word Processing

Spreadsheets

Presentation Builder

Survey builder

Google Workspace

An integrated suit of secure, cloud-native collaboration and productivity apps powered by Google AI.

Tell impactful stories, with Google Slides

Create, present, and collaborate on online presentations in real-time and from any device.

• For my personal use
• For work or my business

Jeffery Clark

T h i s   c h a r t   h e l p s   b r i d g i n g   t h e   s t o r y !

E s t i m a t e d   b u d g e t

Make beautiful presentations, together

Stay in sync in your slides, with easy sharing and real-time editing. Use comments and assign action items to build your ideas together.

Present slideshows with confidence

With easy-to-use presenter view, speaker notes, and live captions, Slides makes presenting your ideas a breeze. You can even present to Google Meet video calls directly from Slides.

Seamlessly connect to your other Google apps

Slides is thoughtfully connected to other Google apps you love, saving you time. Embed charts from Google Sheets or reply to comments directly from Gmail. You can even search the web and Google Drive for relevant content and images directly from Slides.

Extend collaboration and intelligence to PowerPoint files

Easily edit Microsoft PowerPoint presentations online without converting them, and layer on Slides’ enhanced collaborative and assistive features like comments, action items, and Smart Compose.

Work on fresh content

With Slides, everyone’s working on the latest version of a presentation. And with edits automatically saved in version history, it’s easy to track or undo changes.

Make slides faster, with built-in intelligence

Assistive features like Smart Compose and autocorrect help you build slides faster with fewer errors.

Stay productive, even offline

You can access, create, and edit Slides even without an internet connection, helping you stay productive from anywhere.

Security, compliance, and privacy

Secure by default

We use industry-leading security measures to keep your data safe, including advanced malware protections. Slides is also cloud-native, eliminating the need for local files and minimizing risk to your devices.

Encryption in transit and at rest

All files uploaded to Google Drive or created in Slides are encrypted in transit and at rest.

Compliance to support regulatory requirements

Our products, including Slides, regularly undergo independent verification of their security, privacy, and compliance controls .

Private by design

Slides adheres to the same robust privacy commitments and data protections as the rest of Google Cloud’s enterprise services .

You control your data.

We never use your slides content for ad purposes., we never sell your personal information to third parties., find the plan that’s right for you, google slides is a part of google workspace.

Every plan includes

Collaborate from anywhere, on any device

Access, create, and edit your presentations wherever you are — from any mobile device, tablet, or computer — even when offline.

Get a head start with templates

Choose from a variety of presentations, reports, and other professionally-designed templates to kick things off quickly..

Photo Album

Book Report

Visit the Slides Template Gallery for more.

Ready to get started?

Google Slides

Free Online Presentations for Personal Use

Google Slides API Integrations

Build and run workflows using the google slides api. use 1000s of source-available triggers and actions across 2,000+ apps. or write custom code to integrate any app or api in seconds..

Using the Google Slides API, you can build applications that do the following:

• Create new presentations or edit existing ones
• Add or remove slides
• Add or remove slide content
• Change slide layouts
• Format text
• Insert or delete images
• Crop images
• Add or remove comments

Choose an API to Connect with Google Slides API #

1 - 24 of 2,000+ apps by most popular.

Popular Google Slides Integrations #

Popular Google Slides Actions #

Create a blank presentation or duplicate an existing presentation. See the docs here

Find a presentation on Google Drive. See the docs here

Merge data into a presentation. See the docs here

Refresh a chart from Sheets. See the docs here

Authentication #

Google Slides uses OAuth authentication. When you connect your Google Slides account, Pipedream will open a popup window where you can sign into Google Slides and grant Pipedream permission to connect to your account. Pipedream securely stores and automatically refreshes the OAuth tokens so you can easily authenticate any Google Slides API.

Pipedream requests the following authorization scopes when you connect your account:

• authorization GET https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth ? client_id= {{oauth.client_id}} & state= {{oauth.state}} & redirect_uri= {{oauth.redirect_uri}} & response_type= code & scope= {{oauth.space_separated_scopes}} & access_type= offline & prompt= consent
• accessToken POST https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded accept: application/json client_id= {{oauth.client_id}} & client_secret= {{oauth.client_secret}} & grant_type= authorization_code & code= {{oauth.code}} & redirect_uri= {{oauth.redirect_uri}}
• refreshToken POST https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded accept: application/json client_id= {{oauth.client_id}} & client_secret= {{oauth.client_secret}} & grant_type= refresh_token & refresh_token= {{oauth.refresh_token}}

How to Get Started With Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API

Share this article

• Introducing Google’s for Text-to-Speech API
• Using Google’s for Text-to-Speech API
• Finetuning Google’s Text-To-Speech Parameters
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API

In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up and using Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API, including examples and code snippets .

Introducing Google’s for Text-to-Speech API

As a software engineer, you often need to integrate various APIs into your applications to enhance their functionality. Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API is a powerful tool that converts text into natural-sounding speech.

The most common use cases for the Google TTS API include:

• Accessibility : One of the primary applications of TTS technology is to improve accessibility for individuals with visual impairments or reading difficulties. By converting text into speech, the API enables users to access digital content through audio, making it easier for them to navigate websites, read articles, and engage with online services
• Virtual Assistants : The TTS API is often used to power virtual assistants and chatbots, providing them with the ability to communicate with users in a more human-like manner. This enhances user experience and enables developers to create more engaging and interactive applications.
• E-Learning : In the education sector, the Google TTS API can be utilized to create audio versions of textbooks, articles, and other learning materials. This enables students to consume educational content while on the go, multitasking, or simply preferring to listen rather than read.
• Audiobooks : The Google TTS API can be used to convert written content into audiobooks, providing an alternative way for users to enjoy books, articles, and other written materials. This not only saves time and resources on manual narration but also allows for rapid content creation and distribution.
• Language Learning : The API supports multiple languages, making it a valuable tool for language learning applications. By generating accurate and natural-sounding speech, the TTS API can help users improve their listening skills, pronunciation, and overall language comprehension.
• Content Marketing : Businesses can leverage the TTS API to create audio versions of their blog posts, articles, and other marketing materials. This enables them to reach a broader audience, including those who prefer listening to content over reading it.
• Telecommunications : The TTS API can be integrated into Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, enabling businesses to automate customer service calls, provide information to callers, and route them to the appropriate departments. This helps companies save time and resources while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.

Using Google’s for Text-to-Speech API

Prerequisites.

Before we start, ensure that you have the following:

• A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account. If you don’t have one, sign up for a free trial here .
• Basic knowledge of Python programming.
• A text editor or integrated development environment of your choice.

Step 1: Enable the Text-to-Speech API

• Log in to your GCP account and navigate to the GCP console .
• Click on the project dropdown and create a new project or select an existing one.
• In the left sidebar, click on APIs & Services > Library .
• Search for Text-to-Speech API and click on the result.
• Click Enable to enable the API for your project.

Step 2: Create API credentials

• In the left sidebar, click on APIs & Services > Credentials .
• Click Create credentials and select Service account .
• Fill in the required details and click Create .
• On the Grant this service account access to project page, select the Cloud Text-to-Speech API User role and click Continue .
• Click Done to create the service account.
• In the Service Accounts list, click on the newly created service account.
• Under Keys , click Add Key and select JSON .
• Download the JSON key file and store it securely, as it contains sensitive information.

Step 3: Set up your Python environment

Install the Google Cloud SDK by following the instructions here .

Install the Google Cloud Text-to-Speech library for Python:

Set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to the path of the JSON key file you downloaded earlier:

(Replace /path/to/your/keyfile.json with the actual path to your JSON key file.)

Step 4: Create a Python Script

Create a new Python script (such as text_to_speech.py ) and add the following code:

This script defines a synthesize_speech function that takes a text string and an output filename as arguments. It uses the Google Cloud Text-to-Speech API to convert the text into speech and saves the resulting audio as an MP3 file.

Step 5: Run the script

Execute the Python script from the command line:

This will create an output.mp3 file containing the spoken version of the input text “Hello, world!”.

Step 6 (optional): Customize the voice and audio settings

You can customize the voice and audio settings by modifying the voice and audio_config variables in the synthesize_speech function. For example, to change the language, replace en-US with a different language code (such as es-ES for Spanish). To change the gender, replace texttospeech.SsmlVoiceGender.FEMALE with texttospeech.SsmlVoiceGender.MALE . For more options, refer to the Text-to-Speech API documentation .

Finetuning Google’s Text-To-Speech Parameters

Google’s Speech-to-Text API offers a wide range of configuration parameters that allow developers to fine-tune the API’s behavior to meet specific use cases. Some of the most common configuration parameters and their use cases include:

• Audio Encoding : specifies the encoding format of the audio file being sent to the API. The supported encoding formats include FLAC , LINEAR16 , MULAW , AMR , AMR_WB , OGG_OPUS , and SPEEX_WITH_HEADER_BYTE . Developers can choose the appropriate encoding format based on the input source, audio quality, and the target application.
• Audio Sample Rate : specifies the rate at which the audio file is sampled. The supported sample rates include 8000, 16000, 22050, and 44100 Hz. Developers can select the appropriate sample rate based on the input source and the target application’s requirements.
• Language Code : specifies the language of the input speech. The supported languages include a wide range of options such as English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, and many others. Developers can use this parameter to ensure that the API accurately transcribes the input speech in the appropriate language.
• Model : allows developers to choose between different transcription models provided by Google. The available models include default, video, phone_call , and command_and_search . Developers can choose the appropriate model based on the input source and the target application’s requirements.
• Speech Contexts : allows developers to specify specific words or phrases that are likely to appear in the input speech. This can improve the accuracy of the transcription by providing the API with context for the input speech.

These configuration parameters can be combined in various ways to create custom configurations that best suit specific use cases. For example, a developer could configure the API to transcribe a phone call in Spanish using a specific transcription model and a custom list of speech contexts to improve accuracy.

Overall, Google’s Speech-to-Text API is a powerful tool for transcribing speech to text, and the ability to customize its configuration makes it even more versatile. By carefully selecting the appropriate configuration parameters, developers can optimize the API’s performance and accuracy for a wide range of use cases.

In this tutorial, we’ve shown you how to get started with Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API, including setting up your GCP account, creating API credentials, installing the necessary libraries, and writing a Python script to convert text or SSML to speech. You can now integrate this functionality into your applications to enhance user experience, create audio content, or support accessibility features.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API

What are the key features of google cloud’s text-to-speech api.

Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API is a powerful tool that converts text into natural-sounding speech. It offers a wide range of features including over 200 voices across 40+ languages and variants, giving you a lot of flexibility in terms of language support. It also provides a selection of neural network-powered voices for incredibly realistic speech. The API supports SSML tags, allowing you to add pauses, numbers, date and time formatting, and other pronunciation instructions. It also offers a high level of customization, including pitch, speaking rate, and volume gain control.

How can I get started with Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API?

To get started with Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API, you first need to set up a Google Cloud project and enable the Text-to-Speech API for that project. You can then authenticate your project and start making requests to the API. The API uses a simple syntax for converting text into speech, and you can customize the voice and format of the speech output.

Is Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API free to use?

Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API is not entirely free. It comes with a pricing model based on the number of characters you convert into speech. However, Google does offer a free tier for the API, which allows you to convert a certain number of characters per month for free.

How can I integrate Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API into my application?

You can integrate Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API into your application by making HTTP POST requests to the API. You need to include the text you want to convert into speech in the request, along with any customization options you want to apply. The API will then return an audio data response, which you can play or save as an audio file.

Can I use Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API for commercial purposes?

Yes, you can use Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API for commercial purposes. However, you should be aware that usage of the API is subject to Google’s terms of service, and you may need to pay for the API if you exceed the free tier limits.

What languages does Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API support?

Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API supports over 40 languages and variants, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. This makes it a versatile tool for applications that need to support multiple languages.

How can I customize the voice in Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API?

You can customize the voice in Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API by specifying a voice name, language code, and SSML gender in your API request. You can also adjust the pitch, speaking rate, and volume gain of the voice.

Can I use Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API offline?

No, Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API is a cloud-based service and requires an internet connection to function. You need to make HTTP requests to the API, and the API returns audio data over the internet.

What is the audio quality of the speech generated by Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API?

The audio quality of the speech generated by Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API is very high. The API uses advanced neural networks to generate natural-sounding speech that is almost indistinguishable from human speech.

Can I use Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API to create an audiobook?

Yes, you can use Google Cloud’s Text-to-Speech API to create an audiobook. You can convert large amounts of text into high-quality speech, and you can customize the voice to suit the content of the book. However, you should be aware that creating an audiobook with the API may involve a significant amount of data and may incur costs if you exceed the free tier limits.

Matt is the co-founder of SitePoint, 99designs and Flippa. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.

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Please don't bore your co-workers —

“google vids” is google’s fourth big productivity app for workspace, google's "video editor" feels more like a souped-up version of google slides..

Ron Amadeo - Apr 9, 2024 7:29 pm UTC

• Is that Google Slides? Nope it's Google Vids, the new video editor that seems to just make souped-up slideshows. Google
• Google's demo starts with an existing slideshow and then generates an outline. Google
• Choose a theme, which all look like PowerPoints. Google
• Write a script, preferably with the help of Google Gemini. Google
• You can record a voiceover, or pick from Google's robot voices. Google
• This is a Google Workspace app, so there's lots of realtime collaboration features, like these live mouse cursors that were brought over from Slides. Google
• Comments work too. Google
• It's interesting you get a "stock media" library while apps like Slides would use generative AI images here. Google
• Record a talk from your webcam. Google
• Embed your video in the slideshow. Google

If you had asked me before what Google's video editor app was, I would say "YouTube Studio," but now Google Workspace has a new productivity app called "Google Vids." Normally a video editor is considered a secondary application in many productivity suites, but Google apparently imagines Vids as a major pillar of Workspace, saying Vids is an "all-in-one video creation app for work that will sit alongside Docs, Sheets and Slides." So, that is an editor for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and videos?

Google's demo of the new video editor pitches the product not for YouTube videos or films but more as a corporate super slideshow for things like training materials or product demos. Really, this "video editor" almost looks like it could completely replace Google Slides since the interface is just Slides but with a video timeline instead of a slideshow timeline.

Google's example video creates a "sales training video" that starts with a Slides presentation as the basic outline. You start with an outline editor, where each slideshow page gets its own major section. Google then has video "styles" you can pick from, which all seem very Powerpoint-y with a big title, subheading, and a slot for some kind of video. Google then wants you to write a script and either read it yourself or have a text-to-speech voice read the script. A "stock media" library lets you fill in some of those video slots with generic corporate imagery like a video of a sunset, choose background music, and use a few pictures. You can also fire up your webcam and record something, sort of like a pre-canned Zoom meeting. After that it's a lot of the usual Google productivity app features: real-time editing collaboration with visible mouse cursors from each participant and a stream of comments.

Like all Google products after the rise of OpenAI, Google pitches Vids as an "AI-powered" video editor, even though there didn't seem to be many generative AI features in the presentation. The videos, images, and music were "stock" media, not AI-generated inventions (Slides can generate images, but that wasn't in this demo). There's nothing in here like OpenAI's " Sora ," which generates new videos out of its training data. There's probably a Gemini-powered "help me write" feature for the script, and Google describes the initial outline as "generated" from your starting Slides presentation, but that seemed to be it.

Google says Vids is being released to "Workspace Labs" in June, so you'll be able to opt in to testing it.

Listing image by Google

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Google Cloud Next 2024: Everything announced so far

Google’s Cloud Next 2024 event takes place in Las Vegas through Thursday, and that means lots of new cloud-focused news on everything from Gemini, Google’s AI-powered chatbot , to AI to devops and security. Last year’s event was the first in-person Cloud Next since 2019, and Google took to the stage to show off its ongoing dedication to AI with its Duet AI for Gmail and many other debuts , including expansion of generative AI to its security product line and other enterprise-focused updates and debuts .

Don’t have time to watch the full archive of Google’s keynote event ? That’s OK; we’ve summed up the most important parts of the event below, with additional details from the TechCrunch team on the ground at the event. And Tuesday’s updates weren’t the only things Google made available to non-attendees — Wednesday’s developer-focused stream started at 10:30 a.m. PT .

Google Vids

Leveraging AI to help customers develop creative content is something Big Tech is looking for, and Tuesday, Google introduced its version. Google Vids, a new AI-fueled video creation tool , is the latest feature added to the Google Workspace.

Here’s how it works: Google claims users can make videos alongside other Workspace tools like Docs and Sheets. The editing, writing and production is all there. You also can collaborate with colleagues in real time within Google Vids. Read more

Gemini Code Assist

After reading about Google’s new Gemini Code Assist , an enterprise-focused AI code completion and assistance tool, you may be asking yourself if that sounds familiar. And you would be correct. TechCrunch Senior Editor Frederic Lardinois writes that “Google previously offered a similar service under the now-defunct Duet AI branding.” Then Gemini came along. Code Assist is a direct competitor to GitHub’s Copilot Enterprise. Here’s why

And to put Gemini Code Assist into context, Alex Wilhelm breaks down its competition with Copilot, and its potential risks and benefits to developers, in the latest TechCrunch Minute episode.

Google Workspace

Image Credits: Google

Among the new features are voice prompts to kick off the AI-based “Help me write” feature in Gmail while on the go . Another one for Gmail includes a way to instantly turn rough email drafts into a more polished email. Over on Sheets, you can send out a customizable alert when a certain field changes. Meanwhile, a new set of templates make starting a new spreadsheet easier. For the Doc lovers, there is support for tabs now. This is good because, according to the company, you can “organize information in a single document instead of linking to multiple documents or searching through Drive.” Of course, subscribers get the goodies first. Read more

Google also seems to have plans to monetize two of its new AI features for the Google Workspace productivity suite. This will look like $10/month/user add-on packages. One will be for the new AI meetings and messaging add-on that takes notes for you, provides meeting summaries and translates content into 69 languages. The other is for the introduced AI security package, which helps admins keep Google Workspace content more secure. Read more

In February, Google announced an image generator built into Gemini, Google’s AI-powered chatbot. The company pulled it shortly after it was found to be randomly injecting gender and racial diversity into prompts about people. This resulted in some offensive inaccuracies. While we waited for an eventual re-release, Google came out with the enhanced image-generating tool, Imagen 2 . This is inside its Vertex AI developer platform and has more of a focus on enterprise. Imagen 2 is now generally available and comes with some fun new capabilities, including inpainting and outpainting. There’s also what Google’s calling “text-to-live images” where you  can now create short, four-second videos from text prompts, along the lines of AI-powered clip generation tools like Runway ,  Pika  and  Irreverent Labs . Read more

Vertex AI Agent Builder

We can all use a little bit of help, right? Meet Google’s Vertex AI Agent Builder, a new tool to help companies build AI agents.

“Vertex AI Agent Builder allows people to very easily and quickly build conversational agents,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said. “You can build and deploy production-ready, generative AI-powered conversational agents and instruct and guide them the same way that you do humans to improve the quality and correctness of answers from models.”

To do this, the company uses a process called “grounding,” where the answers are tied to something considered to be a reliable source. In this case, it’s relying on Google Search (which in reality could or could not be accurate). Read more

Gemini comes to databases

Google calls Gemini in Databases a collection of features that “simplify all aspects of the database journey.” In less jargony language, it’s a bundle of AI-powered, developer-focused tools for Google Cloud customers who are creating, monitoring and migrating app databases. Read more

Google renews its focus on data sovereignty

Image Credits: MirageC / Getty Images

Google has offered cloud sovereignties before, but now it is focused more on partnerships rather than building them out on their own. Read more

Security tools get some AI love

Image Credits: Getty Images

Google jumps on board the productizing generative AI-powered security tool train with a number of new products and features aimed at large companies. Those include Threat Intelligence, which can analyze large portions of potentially malicious code. It also lets users perform natural language searches for ongoing threats or indicators of compromise. Another is Chronicle, Google’s cybersecurity telemetry offering for cloud customers to assist with cybersecurity investigations. The third is the enterprise cybersecurity and risk management suite Security Command Center. Read more

Nvidia’s Blackwell platform

One of the anticipated announcements is Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell platform coming to Google Cloud in early 2025. Yes, that seems so far away. However, here is what to look forward to: support for the high-performance Nvidia HGX B200 for AI and HPC workloads and GB200 NBL72 for large language model (LLM) training. Oh, and we can reveal that the GB200 servers will be liquid-cooled. Read more

Chrome Enterprise Premium

Meanwhile, Google is expanding its Chrome Enterprise product suite with the launch of Chrome Enterprise Premium . What’s new here is that it mainly pertains mostly to security capabilities of the existing service, based on the insight that browsers are now the endpoints where most of the high-value work inside a company is done. Read more

Gemini 1.5 Pro

Everyone can use a “half” every now and again, and Google obliges with Gemini 1.5 Pro. This, Kyle Wiggers writes, is “Google’s most capable generative AI model,” and is now available in public preview on Vertex AI, Google’s enterprise-focused AI development platform. Here’s what you get for that half: T he amount of context that it can process, which is from 128,000 tokens up to 1 million tokens, where “tokens” refers to subdivided bits of raw data (like the syllables “fan,” “tas” and “tic” in the word “fantastic”). Read more

Open source tools

At Google Cloud Next 2024, the company debuted a number of open source tools primarily aimed at supporting generative AI projects and infrastructure. One is Max Diffusion, which is a collection of reference implementations of various diffusion models that run on XLA, or Accelerated Linear Algebra, devices. Then there is JetStream, a new engine to run generative AI models. The third is MaxTest, a collection of text-generating AI models targeting TPUs and Nvidia GPUs in the cloud. Read more

We don’t know a lot about this one, however, here is what we do know : Google Cloud joins AWS and Azure in announcing its first custom-built Arm processor, dubbed Axion. Frederic Lardinois writes that “based on Arm’s Neoverse 2 designs, Google says its Axion instances offer 30% better performance than other Arm-based instances from competitors like AWS and Microsoft and up to 50% better performance and 60% better energy efficiency than comparable X86-based instances.” Read more

The entire Google Cloud Next keynote

If all of that isn’t enough of an AI and cloud update deluge, you can watch the entire event keynote via the embed below.

Google Cloud Next’s developer keynote

On Wednesday, Google held a separate keynote for developers . They offered a deeper dive into the ins and outs of a number of tools outlined during the Tuesday keynote, including Gemini Cloud Assist, using AI for product recommendations and chat agents, ending with a showcase from Hugging Face. You can check out the full keynote below.

Unlocking Visual Creativity: Using Gemini AI to Enhance Your Google Slides Presentations

I n today’s dynamic professional landscape, crafting visually captivating presentations is paramount. With its array of pre-designed templates, Google Slides offers a solid foundation for creating impactful presentations. However, injecting a touch of visual flair can elevate your slides to new heights. Enter Gemini AI , Google’s innovative solution for generating images seamlessly within Google Slides. 

Gemini AI integration isn’t readily available in Google Slides. Users must leverage specific Google AI programs or subscriptions to unlock this feature. These include Gemini Enterprise and Business add-ons for Google Workspace accounts, Google One AI Premium for personal accounts, or Google Workspace Labs. While Google Workspace Labs offers free access, Gemini AI features are predominantly available in English but accessible globally.

For personal account users, subscribing to Google One AI Premium for a nominal fee grants access to Gemini tools and additional benefits, including ample storage space.

Utilizing Gemini AI to generate images

Once Gemini AI access is secured, leveraging its capabilities within Google Slides is straightforward:

• Sign in to your Google Account and open Google Slides.
• Click on the “Create image with Gemini” button in the toolbar or navigate through “Insert > Image > Create image with Gemini.”
• Input a detailed prompt in the designated text box.
• Click “Create” and wait briefly as Gemini generates four images based on your prompt.
• Select the desired image and insert it into your slide.
• The generated images are fully customizable within Google Slides, allowing users to seamlessly manipulate them to suit their presentation needs.

Tips for optimizing Gemini AI usage

Gemini AI thrives on specificity and descriptive prompts. Users can enhance their image-generation experience by following these tips:

Specific Prompts: Provide detailed prompts encompassing colors, shapes, textures, and lighting to yield precise image results.

Style Selection: Explore the “Add a style” dropdown menu to apply various artistic styles to the generated images, such as watercolor or sketch.

Image History: Google Slides conveniently saves previously generated images in the sidebar for reference during the session.

Gemini AI transcends image generation, extending its functionality across various Google applications. Gemini streamlines workflows from translation services to document creation and video analysis, enabling users to focus on content creation.

08 April 2024

Android Studio uses Gemini Pro to make Android development faster and easier

As part of the next chapter of our Gemini era, we announced we were bringing Gemini to more products . Today we’re excited to announce that Android Studio is using the Gemini 1.0 Pro model to make Android development faster and easier, and we’ve seen significant improvements in response quality over the last several months through our internal testing. In addition, we are making this transition more apparent by announcing that Studio Bot is now called Gemini in Android Studio .

Gemini in Android Studio is an AI-powered coding assistant which can be accessed directly in the IDE. It can accelerate your ability to develop high-quality Android apps faster by helping generate code for your app, providing complex code completions, answering your questions, finding relevant resources, adding code comments and more — all without ever having to leave Android Studio. It is available in 180+ countries and territories in Android Studio Jellyfish .

If you were already using Studio Bot in the canary channel, you’ll continue experiencing the same helpful and powerful features, but you’ll notice improved quality in responses compared to earlier versions.

Ask Gemini your Android development questions

Gemini in Android Studio can understand natural language, so you can ask development questions in your own words. You can enter your questions in the chat window ranging from very simple and open-ended ones to specific problems that you need help with.

Here are some examples of the types of queries it can answer:

How do I add camera support to my app? Using Compose, I need a login screen with the following: a username field, a password field, a 'Sign In' button, a 'Forgot Password?' link. I want the password field to obscure the input. What's the best way to get location on Android? I have an 'orders' table with columns like 'order_id', 'customer_id', 'product_id', 'price', and 'order_date'. Can you help me write a query that calculates the average order value per customer over the last month?

Gemini in Android Studio remembers the context of the conversation, so you can also ask follow-up questions, such as “Can you give me the code for this in Kotlin?” or “Can you show me how to do it in Compose?”

Code faster with AI powered Code Completions

Gemini in Android Studio can help you be more productive by providing you with powerful AI code completions . You can receive suggestions of multi-line code completions, suggestions for how to do comments for your code, or how to add documentation to your code.

Designed with privacy in mind

Gemini in Android Studio was designed with privacy in mind. Gemini is only available after you log in and enable it. You don’t need to send your code context to take advantage of most features. By default, Gemini in Android Studio’s chat responses are purely based on conversation history, and you control whether you want to share additional context for customized responses. You can update this anytime in Android Studio > Settings at a granular project level. We also have a custom way for you to opt out certain files and folders through an .aiexclude file. Much like our work on other AI projects, we stick to a set of AI Principles that hold us accountable. Learn more here .

Build a Generative AI app using the Gemini API starter template

Not only does Android Studio use Gemini to help you be more productive, it can also help you take advantage of Gemini models to create AI-powered features in your applications. Get started in minutes using the Gemini API starter template available in the canary release – channel for Android Studio – under File > New Project > Gemini API Starter . You can also use the code sample available at File > Import Sample > Google Generative AI sample .

The Gemini API is multimodal, meaning it can support image and text inputs. For example, it can support conversational chat, summarization, translation, caption generation etc. using both text and image inputs.

Try Gemini in Android Studio

Gemini in Android Studio is still in preview, but we have added many feature improvements — and now a major model update — since we released the experience in May 2023. It is currently no-cost for developers to try out. Now is a great time to test it and let us know what you think, before we release this experience to stable.

Stay updated on the latest by following us on LinkedIn , Medium , YouTube , or X . Let's build the future of Android apps together!

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