(Xeeis) — ChatGPT, the immensely popular chatbot developed by OpenAI, is breaking new ground by allowing users to engage in voice conversations with it. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, recently announced a series of exciting updates, including the ability for users to have back-and-forth voice conversations with the AI-powered chatbot.
In a blog post released on Monday, OpenAI teased the potential uses of this new feature, suggesting that users could request bedtime stories for their families or settle debates at the dinner table using ChatGPT’s voice capabilities.
OpenAI’s voice features bear a striking resemblance to those offered by well-known voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. In a demonstration of the update, a user asked ChatGPT to craft a story about “the super-duper sunflower hedgehog named Larry.” Remarkably, the chatbot not only narrated the story with a convincingly human-like voice but also responded to questions about Larry’s house and his best friend.
According to OpenAI, ChatGPT’s voice capability is made possible by a cutting-edge text-to-speech model capable of generating remarkably human-like audio from mere text and a short sample of speech. The company revealed that it collaborated with professional voice actors to create five distinct voices that bring the chatbot to life.
But the innovation doesn’t stop there. OpenAI also announced a feature that allows ChatGPT to respond to prompts featuring images. For example, users can snap a picture of the contents of their fridge and ask ChatGPT to help create a meal plan using the available ingredients. Additionally, the chatbot can focus on specific aspects of an image using its “drawing tool” within the app.
These exciting updates are set to roll out within the next two weeks for subscribers to ChatGPT’s Plus and Enterprise services. Subscriptions for the Plus service are priced at $20 per month, while the Enterprise service is exclusively available to business clients.
OpenAI’s latest developments come amid a competitive AI arms race within the tech sector, initially sparked by the public launch of ChatGPT late last year. In recent weeks, major tech players have been racing to introduce new updates that integrate AI-powered tools directly into their core products. Google, for instance, announced a series of updates for its ChatGPT competitor, Bard, last week. Likewise, Amazon revealed plans to bring generative AI-powered enhancements to its Alexa voice assistant in another exciting development for the field of AI.