• ChatGPT, the uber popular chatbot, is set to receive a voice command feature.
• You will be able to have full blown conversations with the AI in real time, about whatever you want.
• Additionally, subscribers will also receive access to new image recognition technology on all platforms.

With the likes of Amazon looking into generative AI to boost the capabilities of its Alexa voice assistant and reports that Apple is looking to do the same with its Siri assistant, the leader in the technology OpenAI has beaten both to the punch by making its uber-popular ChatGPT chatbot voice activated.

Now on both the Android and iOS version of the ChatGPT app, users will be able to activate voice chat with what is considered the most advanced AI large language model (LLM), but only for subscribers. The app version of the chatbot will also receive an update to its image recognition technology.

“We are beginning to roll out new voice and image capabilities in ChatGPT. They offer a new, more intuitive type of interface by allowing you to have a voice conversation or show ChatGPT what you’re talking about,” OpenAI explained in a blog post.

More than just a voice assistant like iPhone’s Siri or Google’s voice assistant which receives voice inputs for orders, users can have full-blown conversations with ChatGPT as if it was the online platform, except now it can be done verbally.

Together with new image recognition, you can show the ChatGPT app a picture and then go on to have a conversation with the AI about the image itself.

OpenAI gives the following examples, “When you’re home, snap pictures of your fridge and pantry to figure out what’s for dinner (and ask follow up questions for a step by step recipe). After dinner, help your child with a math problem by taking a photo, circling the problem set, and having it share hints with both of you.”

As previously mentioned, only subscribers to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise will receive the new voice features. ChatGPT Plus is currently valued at $20 a month, and comes with additional benefits like faster response times, access to GPT-4, the latest and greatest model, first bid on new features and priority access to the platform even when servers are full. The service was launched in February this year.

Voice will be heading to both versions of the app, for iOS and for Android and the image recognition tech will be available on all platforms. To get started, go to settings > new features on the app, then opt into voice conversations. To begin voice chat, tap the headphone button on the top-right corner of the home screen. There are five different voices to choose from.

“The new voice capability is powered by a new text-to-speech model, capable of generating human-like audio from just text and a few seconds of sample speech. We collaborated with professional voice actors to create each of the voices. We also use Whisper, our open-source speech recognition system, to transcribe your spoken words into text,” the company explains.

OpenAI says it will continue releasing more tools to the public in a gradual manner. Plus and Enterprise subscribers will receive voice features first, but other groups of users will also receive access, including developers.