In May, during the same event that introduced us to GPT-4o, OpenAI used its latest large language model as the basis to demo an advanced voice mode for the chatbot. The voice sounded very natural and even generated some controversy when actor Scarlett Johansson accused OpenAI of using her voice without permission for one of those natural voices, Sky (OpenAI has denied that Sky was based on her voice but also announced it would not use that specific Sky voice for the time being.
In July, a small number of ChatGPT Plus users tested an alpha version of the Advanced Voice feature. Today, the company revealed on its X account that Advanced Voice is now rolling out for many more ChatGPT Plus subscribers and ChatGPT Team users.
Advanced Voice is rolling out to all Plus and Team users in the ChatGPT app over the course of the week.
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) September 24, 2024
While you’ve been patiently waiting, we’ve added Custom Instructions, Memory, five new voices, and improved accents.
It can also say “Sorry I’m late” in over 50 languages. pic.twitter.com/APOqqhXtDg
One thing you might notice already is that the design for the Advanced Voice has changed from a series of black dots to one blue circle. In another X post, OpenAI revealed that five new voices are also rolling out with this new update. They include three female voices (Vale, Maple, and Sol) and two male voices (Spruce and Arbor). There"s also a new option for its settings called Custom Instructions. It will allow users to customize how the Advanced Voice feature works with its users.
OpenAI says that the feature has also received updates for "improved conversational speed, smoothness, and accents in select foreign languages." While it will become more widely available this week, Advanced Voice will not be available in some parts of the world, including the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.