Tuesday, 25 November 2025, 18:38

Text-to-speech tool

As mentioned by Techcrunch

Speechify has long served as a tool that helps you listen to texts: articles, PDF documents, and other materials. Now the company is expanding the capabilities of its Chrome extension, adding voice typing and an integrated voice assistant that answers your questions.

Over the past year, the number of voice recognition tools has grown thanks to the general improvement in the quality of language models. Speechify decided to join the trend by launching English-language dictation. Just like other dictation tools, Speechify’s voice typing corrects mistakes and removes unnecessary words.

In my brief test, lasting just over a day, it became clear that the tool needs improvements. It works well with Gmail and Google Docs, but on sites like WordPress there were difficulties activating dictation and getting it to work correctly. The company said that optimization for popular sites would be rolled out gradually.

Regarding accuracy, the error rate turned out to be higher than that of some competitors, such as Wispr Flow, Willow, and Monologue. Speechify notes that its model learns faster with use, and the error rate will gradually decrease.

The startup also releases a conversational voice assistant that lives in the browser’s side panel. You can ask it questions about the site, for example:

“What are the three main ideas?”

– Speechify

or

“Explain this in simpler terms.”

– Speechify

.

Although ChatGPT and Gemini have conversational modes, Speechify says they are considered supplementary, while its own tool puts voice at the forefront.

“We believe that chat will always be the default primary user experience in ChatGPT and Gemini when you open apps. That is what their users expect. Voice will always be secondary – and in many cases this will be an afterthought for ChatGPT and Gemini. We know from many years of Speechify’s development that there is a large share of the market that includes our users who want voice as the primary mode by default every time you open the app and speak with the AI.”

– Rohan Pavuluri

One notable drawback is that the Speechify assistant currently does not work with browsers that have built-in side assistants, such as Atlas from OpenAI, Coment from Perplexity, and Dia. The startup isn’t too worried about this, because the extension is primarily geared toward Chrome and its huge user base.

Speechify has stated its intention to gradually add both voice typing and the voice assistant to all of its desktop and mobile apps.

The startup also aims to develop agents that can perform tasks on your behalf. A full roadmap isn’t disclosed, but they give an example: calling clients to schedule a meeting, or waiting for a response from the company’s support team. Other companies, such as Truecaller and Cloaked, pursue similar goals.

Ivan highlights the global development of consumer technologies in TechCrunch. He is based in India and has previously worked for publications including HuffPost and The Next Web. You can contact Ivan or check his contact details by sending an email to im@ivanmehta.com or through a secure message on Signal.

Other topics you might like:

• Google launches Gemini AI voice assistant on Google TV Streamer, replacing Google Assistant for more natural interaction and personalized content recommendations.

Tags: AI voice assistant, Chrome extension update, speech recognition tools, Speechify voice assistant, Speechify voice typing, voice dictation accuracy

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Fleet Space AI Satellites Boost Lithium Exploration in Quebec

Tuesday, 25 November 2025, 18:37

Fleet Space Technologies (opens in a new browser window)

As noted by Techcrunch

Yesterday the startup Fleet Space announced that it had deployed its artificial intelligence systems that operate via satellites to scale up a significant lithium deposit in Quebec.

Mineral resource exploration is a complex process: only about three out of every thousand potential deposits become economically viable, and confirming this through core drilling can take years.

Fleet Space’s Innovative Approach: Satellites and Artificial Intelligence in Lithium Exploration

According to the company, their method enables more precise targeting of drilling locations, reducing the decision-making cycle from weeks to a few days.

In the orbital constellation, several satellites with different sensors – from electromagnetic to gravitational – are already building maps of subsurface layers.

The collected data feeds into Fleet Space’s software platform, which can propose a new drilling site in as little as 48 hours.

According to the Cisco project, potential reserves could reach up to 329 million metric tons of lithium oxide.

The company also emphasized that these results could extend beyond Cisco’s current boundaries, pointing to regional-scale potential for the area.

Currently, Fleet Space’s technologies demonstrate how space-based data and artificial intelligence can accelerate mineral exploration and open new horizons for regional energy-material markets.