- ChatGPT’s new voice mode is rolling out today to everyone, even free users
- It allows for much more natural conversations and won’t interrupt if you stop talking
- You will be able to do simultaneous translation for the first time ever in ChatGPT
OpenAI has upgraded ChatGPT’s voice mode for everyone with two new models launching globally starting today.
I listened to the new GPT-Live-1 model in a demo powered by OpenAI, and it sounds much more natural than ChatGPT’s previous voice model.
The new model aims to solve two particular problems with the existing ChatGPT voice mode. First, the previous version just wasn’t as smart as the text version of ChatGPT. Second, it tended to interrupt too much. You’ll notice this especially if you’re quiet while thinking of a response — ChatGPT will often fill the gap by speaking.
Sounds more intelligent
To get around the intelligence problem, the new model actually delegates more difficult questions to ChatGPT-5.5 and then returns with an answer. It will say things like “let me check that for you” to let you know it’s doing this, which makes the flow of the conversation feel natural and doesn’t make it seem like you have to wait too long for a response.
It does the same with any answer it has to look up on the web. So, for example, if you asked it when your team’s next game was in the World Cup, it would say something like “OK, let me check,” while you look it up using GPT-5.5, it gives you the answer.
“Hello chat”
OpenAI also demonstrated how the new ChatGPT voice mode is quite happy to stop talking and listen if you tell it to, without interrupting. You can simply ask it not to answer until you speak directly to it again and it will wait.
Of course, that requires you to call it a name it doesn’t officially have. In the demo I saw, the OpenAI employee called it “Chat”, so he said “Hey Chat” just like you would say “Hey Siri”. In practice it seems to work quite well.
Simultaneous translation
The last new feature of note is simultaneous translation. If you watch world leaders being briefed at places like the United Nations, you will see that they have a cochlear through which they receive a simultaneous translation into their own language of what the speaker is saying.
Now you can do this with ChatGPT. Say “I’d like you to translate everything I say at the same time [language]”, then start speaking and ChatGPT will provide a live translation as you speak. Seeing this in action was actually pretty impressive, and I could imagine it being very handy in several real-world situations.
All major languages appear to be supported.
The future of AI
The new GPT-Live-1 models – there are two, the normal and a mini version – will start rolling out to all users immediately, but it may take a few days to reach everyone. The smaller GPT-Live-1 mini model will be the default for free users, while paid users will get the full GPT-Live-1 model.
So far, ChatGPT’s voice mode has been a handy tool when you need to use your hands for something and can’t type, but it’s never been good enough to become the default way you interact with ChatGPT. Now it seems that OpenAI is trying to unlock the possibility of using voice as the primary interface to AI, and it is quite possible that this is the future that OpenAI is aiming for. Today, I think we all just took a step closer to that.
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