How to add audio to Google Slides
A presentation is an audio/visual tool, and knowing how to add audio to Google Slides can make your presentations far more engaging. With most presentations, the emphasis is usually on visually communicating ideas and presenting information. Audio, while not used often, is just as effective a tool to include — whether it’s background music, a voiceover, or a sound effect that reinforces your message.
How to Add Audio to Google Slides
Google Slides is Google’s browser-based presentation tool. It comes with themes, support for graphs, and you can insert audio and/or video files to it. When inserted, the audio file can be played directly from the slide — you do not have to navigate to an audio player or to a separate website to play it. This makes it a convenient option for presenters who want a seamless, self-contained experience during their slideshow.
One important thing to note before you begin: Google Slides stores your audio files in Google Drive, so you will need an active Google account with sufficient storage space available.
Steps to Add Audio to Google Slides
Before you can add audio to Google Slides, you need to first upload the file you want to use to your Google Drive account. Make sure you use the same Google account to create a presentation in Google Slides. Supported audio formats include MP3 and WAV, which are the most widely compatible options.
Once the audio file has been uploaded, follow these steps to add audio to a Google Slides presentation.
- Open a presentation in Google Slides.
- Go to Insert > Audio.
- In the window that opens, select the audio file you want to add (use the search bar to search your Google Drive for the file).
- The audio file will be added to the presentation.
- Select the icon that represents the file and you will see controls and options for customizing when the audio plays.
Once the audio icon appears on your slide, you can reposition it anywhere on the slide canvas. You can also resize it so it is less prominent, or place it in a corner where it won’t distract from your content. In the Format Options panel, you can set the audio to play automatically when the slide loads, or only when clicked. You can also choose to loop the audio or stop it when moving to the next slide.
Here is a closer look at each playback setting available in the Format Options panel and when to use each one:
Start playing: Choose On click if you want full control over when the audio begins — useful for sound effects or narration you time manually. Choose Automatically if the audio should begin the moment that slide appears, which works well for background music or pre-recorded narration tied to a specific slide.
Stop on slide change: When this option is checked, the audio stops as soon as you advance to the next slide. Leave it checked for narration or sound effects intended for a single slide. If you want background music to continue playing across several slides, uncheck this option. Combining Automatically, Loop, and an unchecked Stop on slide change is the standard approach for continuous background music across a presentation.
Loop: Enabling loop causes the audio to restart from the beginning once it finishes. This is most useful for background music or ambient sound where you do not want silence if the clip ends before you move on.
Volume: The volume slider in Format Options sets the default playback level for that audio clip relative to your system volume. Set it high enough to be heard clearly, but test it on the actual device and in the actual room before presenting.
Hide icon when presenting: Check this box to make the speaker icon invisible during the slideshow. Your audience will not see it, but the audio will still play according to your settings. This is particularly useful when audio is set to play automatically and you do not want a visible control cluttering the slide.
Common use cases at a glance:
- Narration on a single slide: Set to Automatically, leave Stop on slide change checked, hide the icon.
- Background music across multiple slides: Set to Automatically, enable Loop, uncheck Stop on slide change, hide the icon.
- Short sound effect triggered manually: Set to On click, leave Stop on slide change checked, keep the icon visible so you can click it.
Playing Audio in Google Slides
Google Slides is primarily a cloud-based tool, and audio playback is most reliable when your device has an active internet connection. That said, Google Slides can be made available offline in Chrome if you have Google Drive offline mode enabled — though not all features, including audio playback, are guaranteed to work without connectivity. Whether your audio plays offline depends on how the deck and its media were prepared and cached in advance.
Because offline behavior can vary, always open the deck on your presentation device before the day of your presentation and verify the audio actually plays in slideshow mode. If there is any doubt, make sure a stable internet connection will be available when you present.
The audio file will remain in your Google Drive and you can play it directly from Google Slides, but you need an active internet connection for it to work. During the presentation, you can click the audio icon to play the audio. If you hover with the cursor over the audio icon, controls for playing it will appear.
It is a good idea to test your audio playback before the actual presentation. Run through the slides in Presenter mode to confirm the audio triggers correctly and that the volume is appropriate for your audience.
Check Google Drive Sharing Permissions Before Presenting
One of the most common reasons audio stops working when someone else opens your presentation is a Google Drive permissions issue. The audio file lives in your Google Drive, and if that file is not shared with the person viewing or presenting the deck, the sound simply will not play — even if the slide itself opens without any problem.
Before you share or present your deck to others, follow these steps to make sure the audio file is accessible:
- Open Google Drive and locate the audio file you inserted into the presentation.
- Right-click the file and select Share.
- Either add the specific people who need access (using the same email addresses the presentation is shared with), or change the general access to Anyone with the link with Viewer permission if the presentation is intended for a broader audience.
- Click Done to save the settings.
If a collaborator, student, or audience member reports that the slide opens but no sound plays, Drive permissions are one of the first things to check. This applies whether you are sharing the deck via a link, publishing it to the web, or presenting from a different device than the one you used to create it.
Add Narration, Background Music, or Audio from Online Sources
The basic insert-from-Drive workflow works well once you have an audio file ready, but many readers arrive at this topic because they want to record a voice-over, add background music, or use an audio source they found online. Here is how to handle each of those workflows.
Recording a voice-over: Google Slides does not have a built-in recording tool, so you will need to record outside the app first. On Windows, open Windows Voice Recorder (search for it in the Start menu), record your narration, and save the file. On a Mac, use QuickTime Player — go to File > New Audio Recording. Save your recording as an MP3 or WAV file, then upload it to Google Drive and insert it into the appropriate slide as described above. Repeat this process for each slide that needs its own narration clip.
Background music across multiple slides: Upload your music file to Drive, insert it onto the first slide where the music should begin, then open Format Options and set it to play Automatically, enable Loop, and uncheck Stop on slide change. The music will continue playing as you advance through slides until the presentation ends or you manually stop it.
Using audio from an online source: Google Slides does not let you insert audio directly from a URL the way it imports Drive-hosted files. If your audio source is online, you have two practical options. First, download the track (where you have the legal right to do so), upload it to Drive, and insert it normally. Second, if the audio is tied to a video — for example a YouTube clip — use Insert > Video to embed the YouTube video on the slide instead. You can resize the video player to be very small or position it off to the side, and the audio will still play. This is a common workaround when a specific online track is not available as a standalone downloadable file.
Troubleshooting Audio Not Playing in Google Slides
If you have inserted an audio file but it is not playing as expected, one of the following scenarios is likely responsible. Work through the list that matches your situation.
Autoplay does not start when the slide appears: Some browsers block unmuted autoplay by default. If your audio is set to play automatically but nothing happens, try clicking anywhere on the slideshow first to signal user interaction, then advance to that slide again. Alternatively, switch the playback setting to On click so you control when it starts.
The audio file does not appear in Insert > Audio right after you upload it: Google Drive needs a moment to finish processing a newly uploaded file before it shows up in the picker. Wait a minute or two, then refresh the Google Slides tab and try inserting again.
The audio stops after one slide: This means Stop on slide change is enabled. Open Format Options for the audio clip and uncheck that setting.
Nobody in the audience can hear anything: Check four things in order — confirm the browser tab is not muted (right-click the tab in Chrome to check), verify the system output device is correct, make sure the system volume is turned up, and check the volume slider inside Format Options for that audio clip.
The file plays inconsistently or not at all: Convert the file to MP3 or WAV if it is in another format. These are the two formats Google Slides handles most reliably. You can use a free tool like Audacity or an online converter to re-export the file.
Audio does not work on a phone or tablet: Audio controls in Google Slides are more limited on mobile. On some devices you may need to tap the speaker icon manually even if the clip is set to autoplay. Always test on the specific device you plan to use for the presentation, not just on a desktop.
Conclusion
Audio playback during a presentation will depend on the quality of the internet connection you have. If the connection is slow or unstable, you will likely experience poor or choppy playback. Unfortunately, there is no built-in solution to this within Google Slides itself.
If reliable audio playback is critical for your presentation, you may want to consider using a desktop tool like PowerPoint, which allows you to embed the audio file directly into the presentation file. This means the audio plays locally without depending on an internet connection.
As for supported formats when you add audio to Google Slides, you can use popular audio formats such as MP3 and WAV. If you are unsure whether a particular format will play correctly, upload it to Google Drive first and try playing it there. If Google Drive can play the file, you will likewise be able to play it in Google Slides without any issues.
