OpenAI’s Advanced Voice mode isn’t available in the EU, and now we might know why
Editor’s note (10/3/24): This article has been updated with commentary from OpenAI and new details about the rollout of Advanced Voice mode in the EU and UK.
As recently reported, ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode is launching this week for all ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers. However, the launch won’t take place in the EU, and we think we know why.
A tweet from OpenAI on X.com simply states: “Advanced Voice is not yet available in the EU, UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.” We initially wondered if this might be due to the EU AI law, but when contacted, OpenAI denied this, pointing out that the EU AI law has not yet come into force, and “Some parts of the world requires additional third-party reviews before launching new products. This is a common practice to ensure the feature meets local requirements. We hope to share an update soon.
Since our first report, Advanced Voice mode has been launched for ChatGPT Plus, Enterprise, Teams and Edu subscribers in the UK. Europa Teams, Enterprise and Edu are now starting to be available, but in Europe the rollout of ChatGPT Plus is still to come.
The persistence of memory
With Advanced Voice Mode, you can talk to ChatGPT through your smartphone and get responses that make it feel like a real conversation with a human. To make it sound natural, Advanced Voice mode uses the GPT-4o LLM for faster responses and can interpret text, image and audio input. For example, you can ask him to look at something with the camera of your smartphone and give an opinion. It can also remember things about you, making your interactions more of a sustained conversation over time.
Additionally, there have been some improvements to Advanced Voice mode since we saw the first Alpha version. Now you get nine new voices (more than the five originally promised), including Arbor, Maple, Sol, Spruce and Vale, and there’s a new visual effect of the blue orb talking.
Foreign language accents have also been improved:
We’ve also improved conversation speed, fluency, and accents in certain foreign languages. pic.twitter.com/d3QOIBFCZbSeptember 24, 2024
How do I know if I have advanced voice mode?
Advanced voice mode is only available for ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers. The rollout will be gradual but should be complete by the end of the week. You’ll know when you have it because you’ll see a pop-up message next to the entry point into Voice Mode. But as we mentioned earlier, Advanced Voice is not yet available in the EU.
