If you have ever wanted to have a full-blown conversation with ChatGPT, now you can. That is, as long as you pay for the privilege of using ChatGPT. More paid users are gaining access to ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode (AVM), which is designed to make interacting with ChatGPT feel more natural.
Advanced Voice Comes to ChatGPT Plus and Teams
OpenAI has started rolling out ChatGPT’s new Advanced Voice Mode to more users. The feature will initially be made available to people on the ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Teams tiers, with Enterprise and Edu users not far behind.
While ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode is going to be accessible in most countries, there are some notable exceptions. AVM is not currently available in the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, or Liechtenstein. This is likely due to more stringent regulations surrounding AI in these territories.
OpenAI Has Made Improvements to Advanced Voice
OpenAI has made some improvements to AVM since it initially showcased the technology in May. For starters, AVM has been redesigned, with a blue sphere representing the chatbot rather than the series of black dots originally used.
There are also five new voices to try, taking the total number to nine. The new voices are named Arbor, Maple, Sol, Spruce, and Vale, and join the already-available Breeze, Juniper, Cove, and Ember. All of these voices have been named after natural elements, which plays into the idea that AVM makes ChatGPT more natural.
One voice no longer available is Sky, which Scarlett Johansson, who famously played an AI in Her, claimed sounded too similar to her own.
OpenAI also claims to have improved ChatGPT’s AVM in several notable (and noticeable) ways. These include conversational speed, smoothness, and accents in foreign languages.
The company has also added Custom Instructions, which bring some of the customization options from the text version to the voice version. Essentially, you can customize ChatGPT to respond to you in a certain way. Lastly, Memory allows ChatGPT to remember voice conversations it has had with you, allowing you both to reference them later on.
Voice Interactions Makes AI Feel Exciting Again
I have to admit that being able to speak to an AI, and have it reply in kind, is much more desirable than messaging back and forth. Not only does it feel more natural, it makes artificial intelligence feel less artificial and more real. Just as Alexa did when it first came out.
I remember the excitement of trying ChatGPT for the first time, and thinking about how AI could change the world (for better or worse). But that early enthusiasm has since died off somewhat. Maybe ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode will trigger a new wave of excitement.
