ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode, a feature that first started rolling out in September, is now being added to the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot’s desktop apps. Announced on Thursday, OpenAI’s native chatbot will now offer a human-like voice chat experience to Mac and Windows users. The feature was first unveiled at the OpenAI Spring Updates event in May and it can express emotions, modulate the voice, and react to what the user is saying. So far, only the paid subscribers of the platform have access to the feature.
ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode Comes to Desktop Apps
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the official handle of OpenAI announced that the Advanced Voice Mode has been rolled out to macOS and Windows desktop apps. The move is interesting as major AI firms have started focusing their attention towards the desktop to offer more powerful and comprehensive AI capabilities to users.
On the same day, Anthropic released its desktop apps for Mac and Windows, paving the way for the Computer Use tool. Google is also reportedly working on a new agentic AI browser tool that will be able to complete tasks such as booking movie tickets and purchasing a product. Now, with OpenAI’s Advanced Voice, users can finally utilise the full capability of voice-based AI in a desktop environment. Notably, so far the feature was only available to Android and iOS apps.
Some of the ways users can take advantage of the ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode is by verbally prompting the AI to write a code, or having a back-and-forth while writing a research paper or college assignment. Users can also upload data files and then have a two-way conversation about its analysis and insights.
ChatGPT app users will find the option to turn on the Advanced Voice Mode by tapping the waveform icon placed next to the text field. Tapping on the icon activates the new voice mode. Users now have five new voices to choose from — Vale, Spruce, Arbor, Maple, and Sol. Each of these voices has a different pitch, tonality, and regional accent.
However, the feature is still only available to the ChatGPT Teams and Plus users. Additionally, those residing in the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein will not get the new feature.