If you build with AI, your week is full of Markdown. Specs, product requirements, READMEs, project notes, CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md files, meeting summaries saved straight into your notes. Most of it is written by a tool, for you to check.
And most of it is long.
What Markdown is, briefly
Markdown is plain text with a few simple marks for structure. A hash at the start of a line makes a heading. A dash starts a list item. Asterisks around a word make it bold. It's quick to write, easy to read on screen, and it's what many AI tools write by default.
It's also why these files pile up. They're cheap to produce, so there are more of them, and every one still has to be read by a person.
Why listening suits it
Most AI-written documents are meant to be understood, not studied. You need to know what the spec says, whether the plan makes sense and what changed since last week. That's a first read, and a first read works well by ear.
Listening lets you do that first read away from the desk. On a walk, on the train, while you wait for a build to finish. Then you come back to the screen for the parts that need a decision.
Getting Markdown read aloud
Not every reading app opens .md files. You can end up copying text into another app, or converting the file first.
Aureley opens them directly. You add a Markdown file from your phone or computer the same way you'd add a PDF or a Word document, and it reads it aloud.
That's the idea behind a line we use a lot. AI writes it. Aureley reads it.
A simple routine for builders
- At the end of the day, add the specs and notes you didn't get to.
- Listen on the way home.
- Turn anything important into a Summary and send it to Obsidian or Notion, so it sits with the rest of your notes.
- Next morning, open the file only where something needs changing.
When your natural-voice hours for the month are used up, Aureley carries on in your built-in voice, so the file still gets finished.
Too much to read, not enough time. Aureley reads it all to you, in a natural voice, whenever you're ready.