AI companies are slowly marking off a checklist of tasks they need to do to make AI indistinguishable from humanity. Companies like Google and OpenAI have just marked off “Make convincing voices.” OpenAI just announced the new Advanced Voice for ChatGPT.
In case you don’t know what this is, OpenAI has been working on bringing a lifelike voice to ChatGPT. Its AI is already realistic enough, but giving it a human-like voice will make it seem more like a real assistant. Either that, or OpenAI wants to make its AI as unsettling as possible.
In any case, most of the major AI companies have been implementing their own realistic voices. For example, the voices in Google’s NotebookLM are extremely realistic. Also, Meta AI also has a voice, as just announced by the company.
The Advanced Voice is coming to ChatGPT
Free ChatGPT users have access to the basic voice features. This gives you access to four pre-set voices that all sound good in their own right. If you tap on the headphones icon on the right of the text field, you’ll be able to speak your query. Then, you’ll get vocal feedback from the voice.
While free users have this function already, OpenAI is coming out with something more advanced that users will love. Firstly, users will hear a more realistic voice complete with more “emotion”, breath noises, and more responses. Also, you’ll be able to interrupt the chatbot without needing to tap on the screen. It’s the company’s closest approximation to a human voice.
OpenAI posted a video to X.com showing off this voice in action. We don’t see too much of what it can do, but it shows enough. The person in the video asks for an apology to tell their grandmother for being late. The voice reacts with a sympathetic “Aww.” We also hear the voice translate its initial response to Mandarin.
Along with that, the Advanced Voice will bring the memory feature, give new voices, custom instructions, and improved accents, according to the company. This will make the voice much more customizable, so it will feel like truly having an assistant tailored for you.
If you want the Advanced Voice, you’re going to have to pony up
While free users can enjoy the basic voice function, they can’t use the Advanced Voice, as it’s only for ChatGPT Plus and Business users. If you want to use the new and shiny voice, then the entry price is $20/month. Getting this subscription will also give you more models to try out, the ability to use GPTs, and more.
