diff --git a/include/glaze/thread/async_string.hpp b/include/glaze/thread/async_string.hpp
index a6fb7c6f8e..0aca5b9206 100644
--- a/include/glaze/thread/async_string.hpp
+++ b/include/glaze/thread/async_string.hpp
@@ -91,6 +91,10 @@ namespace glz
          str = sv;
          return *this;
       }
+      
+      explicit operator std::string() const {
+         return str;
+      }
 
       struct proxy
       {