You have 200 product descriptions in a spreadsheet. Your team needs audio versions for the website. Screen readers work for some people, but natural-sounding voiceovers tend to convert better. They also work in places where reading is not an option. Recording 200 clips with a voice actor takes weeks and costs thousands.
What if you could type a formula in the next column and get a link to a generated audio file? The same way =SUM() gives you a number?
That is what =AISPEECH() does. It takes text from a cell, sends it to an AI text-to-speech model, and gives you a link to the audio file. One formula per cell. Drag it down a column and your whole dataset gets audio in minutes.
Your first AI-generated audio clip
=AISPEECH(A2)Takes the text content from cell A2 and generates an audio file using the default voice. Returns a link to the generated audio file.
That is the whole thing. No audio editing software. No recording booth. No file juggling. The audio link lives right next to the text it came from.
Want a specific voice? Pass it as the second part:
=AISPEECH(A2, "nova")Generates audio from A2 using the 'nova' voice. Nova is a warm, natural-sounding female voice well-suited for narration and product descriptions.
=AISPEECH() supports 11 voices: alloy, ash, ballad, coral, echo, fable, onyx, nova, sage, shimmer, and verse. Each one has its own tone and personality. The voice part is optional. Leave it out and you get the default. Try a few on a single cell before picking one for a big batch.
Choosing the right voice
Your voice pick matters more than you might think. When the voice does not match the content, the audio feels off. Even if the words are fine. Here is a quick guide:
| Voice | Character | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| alloy | Neutral, balanced | General narration, reports |
| nova | Warm, conversational | Product descriptions, marketing |
| echo | Clear, authoritative | Technical docs, tutorials |
| onyx | Deep, resonant | Announcements, formal content |
| shimmer | Bright, energetic | Social media, promo clips |
| fable | Storytelling, expressive | Blog posts, long-form content |
| coral | Friendly, approachable | Customer-facing support content |
| sage | Calm, measured | Educational content, explainers |
| ash | Crisp, professional | Business reports, summaries |
| ballad | Smooth, melodic | Creative writing, brand stories |
| verse | Dynamic, engaging | Podcast intros, video narration |
Test your top two voice choices on three different rows before you batch-generate. A voice that sounds great on a short product name can feel wrong on a longer paragraph. Always test with real content.
Batch audio generation: 200 product descriptions in one pass
This is where =AISPEECH() really pulls ahead of standalone TTS tools. In ElevenLabs or something similar, 200 audio clips means 200 rounds of paste, generate, download, and rename. In a spreadsheet, you write the formula once and drag.
The setup
| Column A | Column B | Column C |
|---|---|---|
| Product Name | Description | Audio (formula) |
| Titanium Travel Mug | Double-walled 16oz travel mug in matte black. Keeps drinks hot for 8 hours. | =AISPEECH(...) |
| Bamboo Cutting Board | 14x10 inch natural bamboo cutting board with juice grooves and carrying handles. | =AISPEECH(...) |
The formula
=AISPEECH(A2&". "&B2, "nova")Concatenates the product name and description into a single spoken phrase, then generates audio using the nova voice. Each row produces a unique audio clip.
Type this in C2, drag it down to C201, and 200 audio clips generate at the same time. Each clip speaks that row's product name followed by its description.
Prepare your text data
Put the text you want spoken in one or more columns. For product audio, combine the product name and description. For reports, use the summary column. The text in the cell is exactly what gets spoken. Write it the way you want it to sound.
Test with a single row
Write the formula in C2 with your chosen voice. Click the link and listen. Does the pacing sound natural? Is the voice a good fit? Adjust the text or try a different voice before you scale up.
Drag the formula down
Once the first clip sounds right, grab the fill handle on C2 and drag it down to cover all your rows. Each row generates on its own using its own text data.
Download or share the audio files
Each cell has a link to the generated audio file. You can open them directly, put them on a website, or download them for use anywhere else.
Each =AISPEECH() call uses AI tokens from your plan. Generating 200 audio clips works great on paid plans (Solo gets 3M tokens/month). The free tier's 3,000 one-time tokens will cover a few test clips. Start small, check the output, then scale on a paid plan.
Writing scripts with AITEXT, then turning them into audio
Here is where things get fun. Most teams do not have pre-written scripts sitting around. They have raw data. Product specs, report numbers, bullet points. They need that turned into something worth listening to.
The trick: use =AITEXT() to write the script, then =AISPEECH() to speak it.
Product description audio for e-commerce
You have product names and specs in columns A and B. You need natural-sounding audio descriptions for each product page.
Step 1: Generate the spoken script
=AITEXT("Write a 2-sentence product description for an e-commerce audio clip. Product: "&A2&". Specs: "&B2&". Make it sound natural when read aloud. No bullet points.", B2)Generates a spoken-word product description from raw specs. The prompt explicitly asks for audio-friendly phrasing.
Step 2: Turn the script into audio
=AISPEECH(C2, "nova")Takes the AI-generated script from C2 and converts it to speech. The result is a natural-sounding product audio clip.
Now you have a pipeline. Raw data in A and B. AI-written scripts in C. Audio links in D. Change the product specs and the whole chain updates.
Automated report narration
Financial reports, weekly metrics, project status updates. These are boring to read through but easy to listen to on a commute. Turn your report data into audio summaries:
=AITEXT("Write a 3-sentence audio summary of this weekly metric. Metric: "&A2&". This week: "&B2&". Last week: "&C2&". Mention the trend and whether it is positive or negative. Write for spoken delivery.", D2)Generates a spoken summary comparing this week's metric to last week's, noting the trend direction.
Then turn it into audio:
=AISPEECH(D2, "echo")Generates authoritative-sounding audio from the report summary. Echo's clear tone works well for data-driven content.
Drag both formulas down and every row of your report gets a narrated audio summary. People who prefer listening over reading will thank you.
Multilingual audio: chain AITRANSLATE with AISPEECH
If you sell in other countries or have a multilingual audience, you need audio in more than one language. The process is simple. Translate the text first, then make audio from the translation.
=AITRANSLATE(A2, "Spanish")Translates the English text in A2 to Spanish. Place this in column B.
=AISPEECH(B2, "nova")Generates Spanish audio from the translated text. The TTS model handles pronunciation for the target language.
For a full multilingual setup with several languages:
| Column A | Column B | Column C | Column D | Column E | Column F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English text | Spanish translation | French translation | English audio | Spanish audio | French audio |
| (source) | =AITRANSLATE(A2, "Spanish") | =AITRANSLATE(A2, "French") | =AISPEECH(A2, "nova") | =AISPEECH(B2, "nova") | =AISPEECH(C2, "nova") |
One row of source text gives you audio in three languages. Drag the formulas down for your whole product catalog and you have a multilingual audio library built from a spreadsheet.
For more on translation workflows, see the AI translation guide.
Five practical ways to use this
1. Accessibility narration for web content
Screen readers work, but they sound robotic. =AISPEECH() generates natural-sounding narration you can put as an audio player on blog posts, docs pages, or product listings. Paste your page content into column A, generate audio in column B, and upload to your CMS.
=AISPEECH(A2, "sage")Sage's calm, measured tone is ideal for accessibility narration where clarity matters more than energy.
2. Podcast show notes to audio snippets
You have podcast episode summaries in a spreadsheet. Generate audio teasers for social media:
=AISPEECH(AITEXT("Write a 15-second teaser script for a podcast episode about: "&A2&". Make it hook the listener. End with: Listen to the full episode now.", A2), "verse")AITEXT writes a punchy teaser script, AISPEECH converts it to audio. Verse's dynamic tone works well for promotional clips.
3. Internal training content
Turn process docs into audio lessons that new hires can listen to during onboarding:
=AISPEECH(AITEXT("Rewrite this process documentation as a friendly 30-second training audio script: "&A2, A2), "coral")Transforms dry documentation into conversational training audio using coral's approachable tone.
4. E-commerce product tours
Generate audio walkthroughs for product pages that cover features, materials, and use cases:
=AISPEECH(A2&". Key features: "&B2&". "&C2, "shimmer")Combines product name, features, and marketing copy into an energetic audio tour for the product page.
5. Notification and alert audio
Make custom audio alerts for dashboards, monitoring tools, or automated workflows:
=AISPEECH("Alert: "&A2&" has exceeded the threshold. Current value: "&B2&".", "onyx")Generates a formal, attention-grabbing audio alert from dynamic data. Useful for monitoring dashboards.
The full workflow: data to audio in four columns
Here is the complete pipeline that ties it all together. Start with raw data, generate scripts, translate, and produce audio. All in one spreadsheet.
| Column | Content | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| A | Raw product data | (manual input) |
| B | AI-written script | =AITEXT("Write a 2-sentence audio description for: "&A2) |
| C | Translated script | =AITRANSLATE(B2, "Spanish") |
| D | English audio | =AISPEECH(B2, "nova") |
| E | Spanish audio | =AISPEECH(C2, "nova") |
Five columns. Three formulas per row. Drag them down for your whole dataset. You now have a bilingual audio content library built entirely from spreadsheet data.
Ready to build your audio pipeline? Install SheetMagic free and paste this into any cell to hear your first AI-generated audio:
=AISPEECH("Welcome to SheetMagic. This audio was generated from a spreadsheet formula.", "nova")
Tips for better audio output
Write for the ear, not the eye. Text that reads well on screen often sounds awkward out loud. Skip parenthetical asides, complex sentences, and abbreviations. Write "sixteen ounce" instead of "16oz." If you use =AITEXT() to generate scripts, add "write for spoken delivery" to your prompt.
Keep clips under 60 seconds. Shorter audio clips are more useful. They load faster, work better on mobile, and hold attention. If your source text is long, use =AITEXT() to summarize it first. Then pass the summary to =AISPEECH().
Stick with one voice per project. Switching voices between product descriptions on the same site feels jarring. Pick one voice and use it throughout. Check the voice table above to choose before you start.
Combine cells carefully. When joining cells with &, add periods and spaces between parts: A2&". "&B2 sounds better than A2&B2. The period creates a natural pause in the audio.
Test brand name pronunciation. AI voices handle most words fine, but brand names, technical terms, and acronyms can come out wrong. Test them one at a time. Adjust the spelling to sound it out if needed ("Asus" might need to be "Ay-soos").
For more on chaining formulas together and batch processing, see the batch processing guide.
Getting started
You can try all of this on the free tier. No credit card needed. You get 3,000 AI tokens, which is enough to generate a few test clips and hear how =AISPEECH() sounds with your content.
For the complete formula reference covering all SheetMagic functions, read the complete guide to AI formulas in Google Sheets. If you are new to SheetMagic, start with the getting started guide for installation and your first formulas.
When you are ready to generate audio at scale, paid plans start at $19/month with 3 million AI tokens. See the pricing page for details.
Content creators and accessibility teams: If you are producing audio for websites, apps, or internal tools, =AISPEECH() turns any spreadsheet into an audio production pipeline. No recording equipment. No editing software. No per-clip costs beyond your token balance. Install SheetMagic free and start generating audio today.
Have questions? visit the FAQ for answers about AI formulas, audio generation, voices, and billing.