SpeechBeeGuide
Read text from an image on a Mac
A photo of a sign, a screenshot of a page, a picture of a menu: your Mac can pull the text out with Live Text and then read it aloud. Both are built in. Here's how to do it in two steps.
By the SpeechBee team, who make SpeechBee. Checked against Apple's guides on 12 October 2026
On this page
Step 1: copy the text with Live Text
In Photos: open a photo that shows text, move the pointer over the text, select it, Control-click and choose Copy Text (or press Command-C).
In Safari: go to an image with text, drag across the text to select it, Control-click and choose Copy.
Live Text can also look up, translate, or act on phone numbers, email addresses and links in the image.
Step 2: have it read aloud
- Turn on Speak selection in System Settings, Accessibility, Read & Speak.
- Paste the text into Notes or TextEdit, select it, and press Option-Esc.
Scanned documents and printed books
For a multi-page scanned PDF, a reader with OCR is easier: NaturalReader's paid plans and Speechify's Scan & Listen both read scanned pages. See read a PDF aloud on a Mac.
A natural voice for what you copied
SpeechBee, which we make, reads selected text in any Mac app with a natural voice that runs on your Mac. It doesn't read images directly, so copy the text with Live Text first, then select it and press your reading key.
Hear any text in a natural voice. Free for 7 days.
Voice to text and Read Aloud on your Mac, iPhone and iPad. After the week, $9 a month, $79 a year, or $99 once. Every plan has every feature.
Questions
Can a Mac read text from a picture?
Yes. Use Live Text in Photos or Safari to copy the text, then have Speak selection read it with Option-Esc.
Do I need an OCR app on a Mac?
Not for a photo or screenshot; Live Text is built in. For long scanned documents, a reader with OCR saves time.
Keep reading
Sources
All checked on 12 October 2026.