Day 10 of the 12 Days of OpenAI went a little retro to make ChatGPT much more accessible than before. OpenAI has introduced new ways to communicate with ChatGPT using a much older form of communication technology: a phone number. In concrete terms, ChatGPT allows you to send text messages via WhatsApp and by calling a toll-free telephone number. Landline AI has arrived. The number you can call or message is of course 1-800-CHATGPT.
You can start a conversation with ChatGPT on WhatsApp by texting 1-800-242-8478 in the app. You can message ChatGPT like any other WhatsApp chatbot, but you’ll get responses that match those of the free version of ChatGPT on the mobile app or website. Not every ChatGPT function is available on WhatsApp either. You can’t ask the AI to search for things online or analyze images, at least for now.
If you’d prefer to receive your AI responses via audio, you can pick up your phone and call 1-800-CHATGPT (that’s 1-800-242-8478), and a very friendly, very human-like female voice will answer all your questions. the same questions you could type to send to ChatGPT. The experience is very similar to ChatGPT’s advanced voting mode, where you ask questions and the AI responds in real time. It can help you translate a sentence, make recommendations, or talk about whatever is on your mind.
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There are clear accessibility benefits for OpenAI in making ChatGPT much more globally available, even with all its limitations and caveats. It’s the same reason why Google set up a Google Assistant phone number that people can call to communicate with the voice assistant. But it also signals that OpenAI and its rivals are looking to integrate AI into more communication channels. That’s why both OpenAI and Apple were keen to add ChatGPT capabilities to Siri, expanding the iOS assistant with the AI model.
There are also limits for ChatGPT on WhatsApp and by phone. You can only send ChatGPT a limited number of messages per day on WhatsApp, although OpenAI is vague about what exactly that limit is. You will receive a warning when you approach the limit, so that you are not surprised by the limit. Likewise, ChatGPT phone calls are not unlimited. Instead of a message limit, you get 15 minutes per month for verbal interactions with the AI. And the phone number only works in the US for now. An automated phone number was certainly a surprise for OpenAI’s latest “gift,” akin to finding an old wooden train under the wrapping paper. I would expect that OpenAI will probably take a more forward-looking approach to the last two gifts before the event ends.