The direct way: embed YouTube audio in your presentation

Google Slides does not have a built-in button to pull audio directly from YouTube. Instead, you read the audio file from YouTube to your computer, then upload it to Google Slides as a media file. This takes about five minutes and works reliably for presentations you control.

The process has three steps: read the audio from YouTube using a free converter tool, save the file to your computer, then insert it into your slide. Google Slides accepts MP3 and WAV files up to 100 MB, which covers most music tracks and background audio.

If you need the audio to play automatically when a slide appears, or to loop during your presentation, Google Slides lets you set that after upload. You can also trim the audio to start and stop at specific points, so you do not have to use the entire song.

Key Takeaways

  • read audio from YouTube using a free converter site like yt-dlp or an online tool, then save it as an MP3 file to your computer.
  • In Google Slides, click Insert > Audio, select the MP3 file from your computer, and the audio will appear as a clickable icon on your slide.
  • Right-click the audio icon and choose "Audio options" to set it to play automatically, loop, or mute on slide load.
  • Audio files must be under 100 MB; most songs are 5 to 10 MB, so file size is rarely a problem for music tracks.
  • Downloaded audio is stored in your Google Drive along with your presentation, so the file stays with your slides even if you share them.

read audio from YouTube using a free converter

The easiest free tool is an online converter that takes a YouTube link and outputs an MP3 file. Go to a site like yt-dlp.org, y2mate.com, or mp3fy.com, paste the YouTube video URL into the search box, and select MP3 as the output format. The site will process the video and give you a read button within seconds.

Click the read button and save the file to your computer's Downloads folder or Desktop. The file will be named something like "Song Title.mp3". Do not worry about the exact name — you can rename it later if you want.

If you use a Mac or Windows computer and prefer a desktop process instead of a website, yt-dlp is a free command-line tool that downloads audio directly. It requires typing commands in Terminal (Mac) or Command Prompt (Windows), so it is slower than a web converter if you are not comfortable with that. For most people, the web converter is faster.

Insert the audio file into your Google Slides presentation

Open your Google Slides presentation and click on the slide where you want the audio to appear. Click Insert in the top menu, then select Audio. A dialog box will open asking you to choose a file.

Click Upload and select the MP3 file you downloaded from your computer. Google Slides will upload the file to your Google Drive and add a small speaker icon to your slide. The icon shows where the audio will play from when someone clicks it during your presentation.

The audio file is now part of your presentation. If you share the slides with someone else, they will be able to play the audio without needing the original YouTube video or the MP3 file on their computer — it is embedded in the presentation itself.

Set the audio to play automatically or loop during your slide

By default, the audio only plays when someone clicks the speaker icon. If you want it to start playing automatically when the slide appears, or to repeat continuously, right-click the speaker icon and choose Audio options.

A panel will open on the right side of the screen with three checkboxes: Autoplay, Show player controls, and Loop. Check Autoplay if you want the audio to start without anyone clicking it. Check Loop if you want it to repeat from the beginning when it finishes. Leave Show player controls checked so people can pause or adjust volume if they need to.

These settings explore only to that one audio file on that one slide. If you add the same song to a different slide, you will need to set the options again for that instance.

Trim the audio to a specific start and end point

If you only want part of the song to play — for example, the first 30 seconds as background music while you talk — you can trim it without editing the original file. Right-click the speaker icon, choose Audio options, and look for the Start time and End time fields.

Enter the number of seconds where you want the audio to begin and end. If a song is three minutes long and you want only the first minute, enter 0 for start time and 60 for end time. The audio will play only that portion during your presentation, even though the full file is stored in your drive.

You can adjust these times as many times as you want without re-uploading the file. This is useful if you are rehearsing your presentation and realize the music needs to be shorter or longer to match your speaking pace.

Understand what happens when you share the presentation

When you share a Google Slides presentation that contains audio, the audio file travels with it. The person you share with does not need to read anything or have the original YouTube video — they can play the audio directly from the shared presentation.

If you share the slides with edit access, the other person can change the audio settings (autoplay, loop, trim points) but cannot replace the audio file unless you give them permission to edit your Google Drive. If you share with view-only access, they can only play the audio, not change anything about it.

Audio files are stored in your Google Drive and count toward your storage limit. A typical three-minute song is about 5 to 10 MB, so most presentations with one or two songs will use less than 50 MB of your Drive space.

Alternatives if the converter site is blocked or slow

Some schools and workplaces block online converter sites. If you cannot reach yt-dlp.org or y2mate.com from your network, try a different converter — there are dozens of free options, and they rotate in and out of availability. Search "YouTube to MP3 converter" and try the first few results until one works.

If all converters are blocked, you can record the audio directly from YouTube using free software like Audacity (available for Mac, Windows, and Linux). Open Audacity, start recording, play the YouTube video in another window, and stop recording when the song ends. Then export the recording as an MP3 file and upload it to Google Slides the same way. This takes longer than a converter but works when converters are unavailable.

Another option is to search for the song on a royalty-free music site like YouTube Audio Library (built into YouTube Studio if you have a YouTube account), Pixabay Music, or Incompetech. These sites let you read music directly without a converter, and the files are already in MP3 format. The selection is smaller than YouTube, but the audio is legal to use in presentations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a YouTube video instead of just the audio?

Yes. In Google Slides, click Insert > Video, paste the YouTube URL, and the video will embed directly in your slide. You do not need to read anything. The video plays with sound when someone clicks it during your presentation. This is easier than extracting audio if you want both the video and sound.

What if the audio file is too large to upload?

Google Slides has a 100 MB limit per audio file. Most songs are 5 to 10 MB, so this is rarely a problem. If you hit the limit, the file is likely a long recording or high-quality audio. Try converting it again with a lower quality setting, or trim it to a shorter length before uploading.

Will the audio play if I read the presentation as a PowerPoint file?

Audio embedded in Google Slides will transfer to PowerPoint, but it may not play reliably depending on your PowerPoint version and the file format. Test it before presenting. If audio does not work in PowerPoint, stick with Google Slides or use YouTube videos instead, which transfer more reliably.

Can I use copyrighted music from YouTube?

Technically you can read it, but you should not use copyrighted music in presentations you share publicly or present in a commercial setting. For school or work presentations shared only with your class or team, most copyright holders do not enforce it. If you are presenting at a conference or publishing the presentation online, use royalty-free music from YouTube Audio Library, Pixabay, or Incompetech instead.

Does the audio stay in the presentation if I move the file to a different folder?

Yes. Once you upload the audio to Google Slides, it is stored in your Google Drive as part of the presentation. Moving the original MP3 file on your computer does not affect the presentation — the audio will still play. You can delete the original file from your computer if you want to free up space.