OpenAI extends voice chat feature of ChatGPT to all free users

OpenAI has expanded the availability of its voice chat feature for ChatGPT to all free users on mobile platforms. Initially launched in September for Android and iOS, the feature was previously only available to Plus and Enterprise subscribers (so yeey! if you're a free user). The feature uses a text-to-speech model to generate human-like audio from minimal input, such as text and a brief speech sample. It was developed in collaboration with voice actors, offering five unique voices for users to choose from.

The expansion rollout may be gradual, meaning not all users might have immediate access. The initial rollout for paid subscribers required activation in the settings under new features, but apparently, this new version will not require any extra steps from free users. A button with a headset icon should appear next to the text box once the update is available. You only need to press this button and wait for it to 'connect' with the assistant. After this, you can interact with it in real-time through voice, with options such as pausing the conversation or putting it on hold to prevent the assistant from interrupting you while you're thinking or finishing a sentence.

OpenAI has limited the use of ChatGPT's voice feature to conversations only to prevent potential misuse, such as impersonation.

Our take: As an interesting note, this feature was released to the public over the weekend, while the company was essentially in turmoil, after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman, were briefly dismissed by the board of directors due to transparency issues. Following Altman's departure, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella invited Altman and his team to establish a new AI research division within Microsoft. Altman initially accepted, but after a day, it was revealed that he had reached an agreement with the board to return as CEO of OpenAI. Certainly, this has been one of the strangest and most surprising dramas in the technology world this year, but it also revealed the volatility of the company that was, until now, considered the strongest in the AI technology field.