diff --git a/sdk/storage/azure-storage-blob/azure/storage/blob/aio/_download_async.py b/sdk/storage/azure-storage-blob/azure/storage/blob/aio/_download_async.py
index 6e65a8da8768..6b3b0e49c4a6 100644
--- a/sdk/storage/azure-storage-blob/azure/storage/blob/aio/_download_async.py
+++ b/sdk/storage/azure-storage-blob/azure/storage/blob/aio/_download_async.py
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ def read(self, size: int = -1) -> T:
         ...
 
     @overload
-    def read(self, *, chars: Optional[int] = None) -> T:
+    def read(self, *, chars: Optional[int] = None) -> str:
         ...
 
     # pylint: disable-next=too-many-statements,too-many-branches