ChatGPT just released a beta update that lets you replace the default voice assistant on your Android phone. Although the ChatGPT for Android app has been around since 2023, this update makes it more convenient to use its capabilities without diving into the app.
Join the ChatGPT Beta to Make It the Default Digital Assistant on Your Phone
If you want to use ChatGPT as your primary voice assistant, you must first install the latest beta version of the app. To join the beta program, go to the ChatGPT app on the Google Play Store, scroll down to the bottom until you find the Join the beta section, and tap Join. When the Join beta program? window pops up, tap Join to confirm. It may take a few minutes for you to get signed up, but once you’re confirmed, go ahead and tap Install to get the ChatGPT app on your phone.
To confirm that you’re running the latest version of ChatGPT, open the app, tap Continue on the Welcome to ChatGPT page, and then tap on Sign up in the upper right corner of the main page. You can then log into your account if you already have one or create one if not yet. From there, tap on the menu icon on the upper left corner of the main page, and then tap on your name to reveal the settings menu. From there, tap on About, and it should say ChatGPT for Android (1.2025.070).
Now that you have the latest app version, you then need to head into your phone’s settings to activate it. Go to Apps > Choose default apps > Digital assistant app. Once you’re in the Digital assistant app settings, tap on Digital assistant app and choose ChatGPT. Note that this feature isn’t available in all regions and devices yet, so you might not be able to see and use it.
But if it’s available for you, you should be able to use ChatGPT when you launch your phone’s voice assistant feature — either by long-pressing the home or power button or by swiping from the corner of the screen. Unfortunately, ChatGPT doesn’t have a voice recognition feature yet, so you cannot launch it by voice unlike Gemini (which turns on when you say, “Hey, Google”) or Bixby.
Using ChatGPT as your primary voice assistant can help you get the most out of it, especially if you know how to use ChatGPT search like a pro. However, you’ll also miss out on several Google integrations (like smart home control), so you might want to retain Gemini on your Android phone for tasks like these.
OpenAI has recently been releasing updates to make ChatGPT much more useful for daily life. Aside from this latest release for Android devices, it also introduced a new creative model that’s supposed to make the LLM good at writing. But you still shouldn’t rely on it for everything, as it still gets some of the easiest questions wrong.
