MAC
How to make a Mac read selected text aloud
Real screenshot · MacBook Neo, macOS 27.0.1In short
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Read & Speak, and switch on Speak selection. Then select text in any app and press Option+Esc, the shortcut shown on our Mac, to hear it read aloud.
Your Mac can read selected text aloud in the system voice.
5 of 5 steps show a real screenshot from our MacBook Neo.
Steps
- 1
Open System Settings
Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings….
- 2
Click Accessibility, then Read & Speak
Click Accessibility in the sidebar, then click Read & Speak.
On our MacBook Neo, Read & Speak is in the Vision group, between Motion and Audio Descriptions.
- 3
Switch on Speak selection
Click the switch at the right of the Speak selection row. Ours was off.
The System voice row further down sets the voice. Ours was Samantha.
- 4
Check the keyboard shortcut
Click the info button (i) at the right of the Speak selection row.
On our MacBook Neo the sheet shows Keyboard shortcut Option+Esc, with Highlight content set to Words. Click OK to keep any changes.
- 5
Select text and press the shortcut
Select text in any app and press Option+Esc. A small controller appears while the text is read.
On our MacBook Neo, TextEdit highlighted each word as it was spoken, and the controller showed TextEdit with a 1× button and pause and stop buttons.
You can also choose Speech > Start Speaking in the Quick Actions menu, as the note under Speak selection says.
If you do not see this option
- Read & Speak is not in the list You may need to scroll down. On our MacBook Neo it is in the Vision group of Accessibility.
- No shortcut setting The shortcut is not on the main page. Click the info button (i) at the right of the Speak selection row to open the sheet with Keyboard shortcut.
- There is no Read & Speak under Accessibility Apple says that on macOS Ventura the same settings were called Spoken Content. Speak selection and its info button are there. Sources: Change Read & Speak settings for accessibility on Mac, Change Spoken Content settings for accessibility on Mac
- You want a different shortcut Apple says you set it in the info sheet: click in Keyboard shortcut and press the keys you want, for example Option and Tab together. Sources: Change Read & Speak settings for accessibility on Mac, Change Spoken Content settings for accessibility on Mac
If this does not work
- Nothing is read aloud Check that the Speak selection switch is on and that text is selected before you press the shortcut shown in the info sheet, Option+Esc on ours.
- Accessibility Reader opens instead You may have pressed ⌘Esc, which the screen says turns on Accessibility Reader. Use Option+Esc for Speak selection.
- The voice reads in the wrong language Check System speech language, set to Use System Language on ours, and leave Detect languages switched on.
- The small controller does not appear Apple says Show controller in the info sheet can be set to Automatically, Never or Always. Ours was set to Automatically; choose Always to see it every time.
Good to know
Detect languages is switched on in the picture.
If your Mac speaks without you asking, VoiceOver, the screen reader, may be on. Press Command and F5 to turn it off.
On our MacBook Neo, macOS 27 shows a separate Accessibility Reader row above Speak selection. Its note says to press ⌘Esc to turn it on, which is not the same as the Speak selection shortcut.
macOS 27 compared with macOS 26: We rewrote steps 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 to match the macOS 27 screens. The macOS 26 page keeps the steps and screenshots as they were.
Version history: the macOS 26 version of this guide, with its own screenshots.
About this guide
- Device
- Mac
- Shown on
- macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)
- App
- System Settings
- Real screenshots
- 5 of 5 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 2 official, linked below
Sources
Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.Did this guide work for you?
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