On Monday, OpenAI announced updates to its Advanced Voice Mode, the AI voice feature that facilitates real-time conversations in ChatGPT. These updates aim to make the AI assistant more personable and reduce interruptions during user interactions.
Manuka Stratta, a post-training researcher at OpenAI, shared the changes in a video posted on the company’s official social media channels.
The latest update from OpenAI addresses a common issue with AI voice assistants that interrupt users when they pause to think or take a breath.
Free ChatGPT users now have access to a new version of Advanced Voice Mode that allows them to pause without interruption while speaking to the AI assistant. Paying users—including subscribers to OpenAI’s Plus, Teams, Edu, Business, and Pro tiers—will also experience fewer interruptions and an enhanced personality for the voice assistant.
An OpenAI spokesperson informed TechCrunch that the new AI voice assistant for paying users is “more direct, engaging, concise, specific, and creative in its responses.”
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These improvements to Advanced Voice Mode come amidst growing competition in the AI voice assistant market. Sesame, a startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and founded by Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe, has recently gained attention for its natural-sounding AI voice assistants, Maya and Miles. Larger companies, such as Amazon, are also intensifying their efforts in the AI voice assistant arena, with plans to release an LLM-powered version of Alexa.
SOURCE: TECH CRUNCH
