I Tried ChatGPT's Voice Mode and Now Typing Feels Ancient
When I first tapped the little wavelength icon to try out ChatGPT's voice mode, I didn't expect much -- just another AI feature that sounded cooler than it actually was. After years of clunky experiences with voice assistants that constantly misheard me or cut me off midsentence, my expectations were low. But this? This is something different. Voice mode doesn't just respond, it converses.
It catches pauses, mumbled half-ideas, and even the random "uhhh" moments without missing a beat. Whether I'm stuck in traffic, cooking dinner, or just multitasking around the house, I can ask questions, think out loud, and get real-time answers-without touching a screen. It's not just faster than typing-it's surprisingly natural. If you haven't tried it yet, here's why voice mode might be the smartest way to interact with AI right now.
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ChatGPT, from OpenAI, isn't the only chatbot going hands-free. Google's Gemini Live offers the same "talk over me, and I'll keep up" vibe. Anthropic's Claude has a beta version of its voice mode on its mobile apps, complete with on-screen bullet points as it speaks, and Perplexity's iOS and Android assistant also answers spoken questions and launches apps like OpenTable or Uber on command.
But even with everyone racing to master real-time AI conversation, ChatGPT remains my go-to. Whatever your chatbot of choice, take a break from the typing and try out the voice option. It's far more useful than you think.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Watch this: ChatGPT's Viral Feature: Turning People Into Action Figures
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What exactly is voice mode?
Voice chat (or "voice conversations") is ChatGPT's hands-free mode that lets you talk to the AI model and hear it talk back to you, no typing required. There's a voice icon that you'll find in the mobile, desktop and web app on the bottom-right of any conversation you're in. If you press the button, you can say your question aloud and ChatGPT will transcribe it, reason over it and reply. As soon as it's done talking, it starts listening again, creating a natural back-and-forth dialogue.
Just remember: Voice mode runs on the same large language model as regular ChatGPT, so it can still hallucinate or get facts wrong. You should always double-check anything important.
OpenAI offers two versions of these voice conversations: Standard Voice (the default, lightweight option for free) and Advanced Voice (only available for paid users).
Standard Voice first converts your speech to text and processes it with GPT-4o (and GPT-4o mini), taking a little bit longer to talk back to you. Advanced Voice, on the other hand, uses natively multimodal models, meaning it "hears" you and generates audio, so the conversation is more natural and done in real time. It can pick up on cues other than the words themselves, like the speed you're talking or the emotion in your voice, and adjust to this.
Note: Free users can access a daily preview of Advanced Voice.
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Nelson Aguilar/CNET
7 reasons you should start using ChatGPT's voice mode feature
1. It's genuinely conversational
Unlike typing, when I talk to ChatGPT, I'm not hunting for the right word or backspacing after every typo. I'm just speaking, like I would with any friend or family member, filled with "ummmmms" and "likes" and other awkward breaks. Voice mode rolls with all of my half-finished thoughts, though, and responds with either a fully fleshed-out answer or a question to help me hone in on what I need. This effortless give-and-take feels much more natural than typing.
2. You can use ChatGPT hands-free
Obviously, I still need to open the ChatGPT app and tap on the voice mode button to start, but once I begin, I no longer have to use my hands to continue a conversation with the AI chatbot. I can be stuck in traffic and brainstorm a vacation that I want to take later this year. I can ask about flights, hotels, landmarks, restaurants and anything else, without touching my phone, and that conversation is saved within the app, so that I don't have to remember everything that ChatGPT tells me.
3. It's good for learning a new language with real-time translation
I mentioned earlier that I use voice mode to practice languages, which voice mode excels in. I can speak in English and have ChatGPT respond in flawless Polish, complete with pronunciation tips. Just ask voice mode, "Can you help me practice my (language)" and it'll respond with a few ways it can help you, like conversation starters, basic vocabulary or numbers. And it remembers where you left off, so you can, in a way, take lessons; no Duolingo needed.
4. Get answers about things you see in the real world
This feature is exclusive to Advanced Voice, but this is probably my favorite feature with voice mode. Thanks to its multimodal superpowers, I can turn on my phone's camera or take a video/photo and ask ChatGPT to help me. For example, I had trouble recognizing a painting I found at a thrift store, and the owner had no idea where it came from. I pulled up voice chat, turned on my camera and asked voice mode where the painting was from. In seconds, it could tell me the title of the painting, the artist's name and when it was painted.
5. It's a better option for people with certain disabilities
For anyone with low vision or dyslexia, talking for sure beats typing. Voice mode can transcribe your speech and then read your answer aloud at whatever pace you choose (you can adjust this in your settings or ask ChatGPT to slow down). The hands-free option also helps anyone with motor-skill challenges, because all you need to do is one-tap to start and another to stop, without extensive typing on a keyboard.
6. Faster brainstorming
Sometimes I get a burst of ideas, and I think faster than I can type, so ChatGPT's voice mode is perfect for spitballing story ideas, figuring out a new layout for my living room or deciding interesting meals to cook for the week. Because I'm thinking aloud instead of staring at my phone, my ideas flow much easier and faster, especially with ChatGPT's instant follow-ups. It helps keep the momentum rolling until I've got a polished idea for whatever I'm brainstorming.
7. Instant summaries you can listen to
Drop a 90-page PDF in the chat, like for a movie script or textbook, ask for a summarization and have the AI read it aloud to you while you fold laundry. It's like turning any document (I even do Wikipedia pages) into a podcast -- on demand.
Voice mode isn't just a neat trick; it's a quick and more natural way to use ChatGPT. Whether you're translating street signs, brainstorming an idea or catching up on the news aloud, talking to ChatGPT feels less like using a chatbot and more like having a conversation with a bite-sized expert. Once you get used to thinking out loud, you might never go back to your keyboard.
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