OpenAI’s ChatGPT app for iOS has added voice chat for all users, meaning you can have an entire back-and-forth conversation completely hands-free.
Previously, voice chat was only available to paid subscribers – or via fiddly third-party extensions – but now anybody can use it. Despite reports that it’s a US-only release, I was able to use voice chat from the UK, so it seems as though this feature is now available worldwide.
To use this feature, simply open the free ChatGPT app, and press the new headphones button located just above the keyboard. It’ll take a few seconds to initialize, after which the app will start listening. Unlike Siri, there’s no time limit or cut-off; you can be silent for five minutes and then ask a question, so long as voice chat mode is still open. Alternatively, you can hold the ‘manual control’ button and record a question that way.
ChatGPT will think about your answer, consulting the web if need be, and then speak its response aloud. You’ll be prompted to choose one of five artificial voices when you first use voice chat, but if you change your mind later you can pick a different one from the app’s Settings menu. Here, you can also change the main language if English isn’t your preferred language to speak, or you want to put your Duolingo streak into practice!
It’s worth noting that audio recordings aren’t saved anywhere, but you’ll get a text transcription of any voice chats in-line with the rest of your ChatGPT discussions. This means you can have a conversation and then refer back to it later.
You can lock your device while chatting with ChatGPT and the discussion will continue in the background. There’s a handy live activity widget on the Lock Screen while this function is active, and you’ll also see an orange dot on the status bar as a reminder that an app is using your microphone input. To stop chatting, you’ll have to open up the ChatGPT app again and tap the red X button.