Redeem now - ChatGPT is about to get into conversations with you.
- OpenAI is introducing a new feature that gives the chatbot a voice to respond to you with audio.
- Users can pick from five different voices.
OpenAI is introducing a new feature to ChatGPT that could make the AI tool feel even more human: the ability to talk to you.
The AI company announced Monday that, over the next two weeks, paying users of ChatGPT will be able to start interacting with the popular chatbot by voice so they can "engage in a back-and-forth conversation."
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.The feature, enabled by a new text-to-speech model, allows users to choose from five different voices — named Juniper, Sky, Cove, Ember and Breeze — developed by work done with professional voice actors, the company said.
In a review of the new feature, the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern described the voices as eerily human. In demos, the voices sound responsive and smooth, unlike the occasionally stilted responses given by smartphone assistants.
OpenAI warned that although the new voice technology, which creates "synthetic voices from just a few seconds of real speech," offers a new tool for creativity, the feature can present risks such as "the potential for malicious actors to impersonate public figures or commit fraud."
"This is why we are using this technology to power a specific use case—voice chat," OpenAI said in a blogpost. "Voice chat was created with voice actors we have directly worked with. We're also collaborating in a similar way with others."
The introduction of OpenAI's new voice feature to ChatGPT, which was first launched in November last year, brings fresh competition to rivals such as Apple and Amazon, whose Siri and Alexa assistants face direct competition from the upgrade.
The bid to make chatbots more human-like comes as companies seek to transform generative AI technology into useful tools that act as personal assistants for users.
Inflection AI, a rival to OpenAI, dubs its chatbot Pi, which also has a voice feature, as a "personal AI, designed to be supportive, smart, and there for you anytime."
ChatGPT will also have a new feature that allows it to "see," with users able to show ChatGPT what they're talking about by showing them images. According to OpenAI, that could mean, for example, showing ChatGPT an image of the food inside a fridge to help plan a meal.
"Voice and image give you more ways to use ChatGPT in your life," OpenAI said. "Snap a picture of a landmark while traveling and have a live conversation about what's interesting about it."
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