OpenAI finally brings advanced audio chat to ChatGPT after months of hiatus

OpenAI is roll out an advanced audio mode for its paid ChatGPT users, several months after the feature was put on hiatus. The update brings five new voices (for a total of nine), improved accents, enhanced memory, and more personalized interactions to the audio tool, which is available to ChatGPT Plus and Team subscribers. Subscriptions start at $20 per month.

The feature, originally announced in May, made headlines after one of the voice options sounded eerily similar to the fictional voice assistant played by actress Scarlett Johansson in the film Her. After Johansson’s legal team sent letters to OpenAI, delayed the wider rollout of the advanced audio mode. In a blog post at the time, OpenAI said that the specific voice, which the company called Sky, “was never intended to resemble (Johansson’s).”

“Out of respect for Ms Johansson, we have stopped using Sky’s voice in our products,” the message said. said“We regret, Ms Johansson, that we did not communicate better.”

The Sky voice option has been removed from the feature.

The update promises the ability to better remember conversations and have more natural interactions. It also has the ability to converse in 50 languages ​​and will listen for requests if it is interrupted.

“I hope you find it was worth the wait,” said CEO Sam Altman wrote in a tweet Tuesday.

Advanced audio mode is not yet available in all regions, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.

The launch comes as Google continues to roll out its free AI-powered Gemini Live audio tool for English-speaking Android users via the Gemini app. Gemini Live, which promises to learn and adapt to users’ conversational styles over time, was also announced in May. Meanwhile, Facebook maker Meta announced on Wednesday The company is adding celebrity voices including Kristen Bell, John Cena and Dame Judi Dench to its AI chatbot.