- OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Advanced Voice mode in the browser
- For the time being, only paying subscribers will have access
- It is an essential first step towards browser-based AI agents for ChatGPT
It’s been a busy time for ChatGPT and OpenAI. After rumors that ChatGPT Advanced Voice mode (the ability to have a free-flowing conversation with the AI) is about to get the ability to ‘see’, and last week the ChatGPT Windows app rolling out to all free users, it just announced that advanced voice mode is now only available in the browser-based version of ChatGPT, for paid subscribers only.
So if you are a ChatGPT Plus or Teams subscriber, visiting ChatGPT.com (or the newly purchased Chat.com domain) will soon give you access to the Advanced Voting Mode option that was previously only available in the app versions of ChatGPT.
ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode was released on mobile in September and was recently added to the desktop apps. The browser release is described as “rolled out”, so you may not see Advanced Voice mode when logging in with ChatGPT (we don’t have access at the moment), but that should change in the coming days.
Free users will also eventually get access to advanced voice mode. In one after On X.com, which also has a video showing how ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode works in a browser, Kevin Weil, CPO of OpenAI, said: “We will look to introduce free users in the coming weeks.”
Rolled out this week to paying ChatGPT users: advanced voice mode on the web! 😍 We launched Advanced Voice Mode in September to our iOS and Android apps, and recently to our desktop apps (https://t.co/vVRYHXsbPD). Now we’re happy to add the Internet to the mix. This means… pic.twitter.com/HtG5Km2OGhNovember 19, 2024
AI operators
The ChatGPT Advanced Voice mode is an essential first step towards the rumored ChatGPT Operator Agent, a tool that could change the way we interact with our computers and technology in general.
ChatGPT Operator Agent is an AI agent that can communicate directly with your computer on your behalf. Agents aren’t unique to OpenAI – everyone from Anthropic to Google and Microsoft are also developing autonomous AI agents that can see what’s on your screen and interact with it. For example, you can have an AI agent pay your bills, or book a vacation for you, taking the virtual assistant model to the next level. Voice control in the browser will be a necessary first step when using an AI agent, as the majority of its work will be browser-based.
Don’t expect OpenAI announcements to slow down before the end of the year. We still expect that the ChatGPT search, which recently launched for paid users, will now be made available to users on the free tier any day now. It launched with the note: “We will be rolling out to free users in the coming months.”