OpenAI Rolls Out Voice Feature For ChatGPT Plus

Open AI released its voice feature for ChatGPT Plus to a small number of subscribers yesterday. Just as promised during the live OpenAI Spring Update event in May, users will finally get to try the audible conversational version of the AI assistant.

“We’re starting to roll out advanced Voice Mode to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users,” wrote OpenAI on X, “Advanced Voice Mode offers more natural, real-time conversations, allows you to interrupt anytime, and senses and responds to your emotions.”

We’re starting to roll out advanced Voice Mode to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users. Advanced Voice Mode offers more natural, real-time conversations, allows you to interrupt anytime, and senses and responds to your emotions. pic.twitter.com/64O94EhhXK

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 30, 2024

The company added that users who get to test the alpha version will get an email with instructions to learn how to use Voice Mode.

According to Forbes, OpenAI delayed its rollout—initially expected to be deployed in June—due to safety concerns and adjustments as the company claimed to need more time to reach “launch standard.” OpenAI set back after the actress Scarlett Johansson requested more information about the AI assistant’s voice called “Sky” as it was “eerily similar” to hers.

The voice Sky—used during the demonstration at the live event—is not available in the new release, and OpenAI hasn’t disclosed more information about the source of the voice.

According to MIT Technology Review, the new voice model powered by GPT-4o will be capable of more natural conversations compared to Siri and Alexa, and capable of recognizing emotions, responding to interruptions, and combining and integrating text and visual capabilities.

OpenAI expects to get more feedback during this period before releasing the voice-enabled chatbot to a wider audience later this year, in the fall. The company said it has tested the model with over 100 external testing team members in 45 languages across 29 countries.

One of the safety measures considered before launching the voice feature was audio deepfakes. The new voice model will not be allowed to create voice deepfakes; it will only use four voices chosen in collaboration with actors.

OpenAI expects to release more features soon—like video and screen sharing—for its AI assistant model. Just a few days ago, the tech company released a new AI-powered search engine called SearchGPT expected to compete against Google.