The advancement of voice interaction technology is a significant milestone in artificial intelligence, enabling more natural and human-like conversations with AI systems. OpenAI’s upgraded Voice Mode for ChatGPT was anticipated to enhance these interactions by incorporating faster responses and more nuanced, emotionally aware exchanges. However, despite the excitement generated by its initial announcement, the rollout of this feature has encountered delays.
After being announced in May, OpenAI has confirmed that the upgraded Voice Mode in ChatGPT is being delayed.
The most impressive aspect of OpenAI’s demo of GPT-4o, which overshadowed Google’s AI-focused I/O presentation the following day, was the upgraded Voice Mode. This conversational Voice Mode was lauded for its quick responses and highly natural interactions.
But now, its release is being postponed.
OpenAI announced on Twitter/X that the upgraded Voice Mode will be delayed by at least a month. This delay affects the “small” alpha group of ChatGPT Plus subscribers who were supposed to gain access to the upgrade by the end of this month.
The full release of ChatGPT’s “advanced” Voice Mode is now expected to be available in the Fall, according to OpenAI.
In their update, OpenAI expressed continued excitement about the advanced Voice Mode showcased during their Spring Update:
“We had planned to start rolling this out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but need one more month to reach our bar to launch. For example, we’re improving the model’s ability to detect and refuse certain content. We’re also working on improving the user experience and preparing our infrastructure to scale to millions while maintaining real-time responses.”
As part of their iterative deployment strategy, OpenAI will begin the alpha with a small group of users to gather feedback and expand based on what they learn. They plan for all Plus users to have access in the Fall. Exact timelines depend on meeting their high safety and reliability standards. OpenAI is also working on rolling out new video and screen-sharing capabilities and will provide updates on that timeline.
ChatGPT’s advanced Voice Mode is designed to understand and respond with emotions and non-verbal cues, moving closer to real-time, natural conversations with AI. OpenAI’s mission is to thoughtfully bring these new experiences to users.
OpenAI did not address whether the “Sky” voice will return with this upgrade after it was removed last month. The voice was disabled because it sounded too much like Scarlett Johansson, who declined to lend her voice to ChatGPT.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT’s new Mac app is now widely available to all users.
