Some ChatGPT Plus members can start using Advanced Voice Mode but others might need to wait for months.
First demoed back in May as part of the launch of GPT-4o, ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode promises the ability to create customizable character voices or act as a live translator. Some ChatGPT Plus users appear to already have access to the new feature, suggesting the rollout has begun – but not as fully as you might hope.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman promised a rollout “next week” on July 25 when asked on X, specifying that Plus subscribers will be the first to access Advanced Voice Mode.
alpha rollout starts to plus subscribers next week!
— Sam Altman (@sama) July 25, 2024
Users have taken to reddit’s ChatGPT subreddit to share a new message at the bottom of the ChatGPT app, reading: “Advanced Voice Mode is on the way.”
“Our rollout of Advanced Voice Mode has started, and we’re slowly enrolling users in the alpha to ensure the quality of the experience,” the message continues. “All Plus users will have access by the end of fall – we’ll let you know as soon as you’re in.”
The end of fall could be as late as November and is suitably vague that it could arguably encompass any time before the end of the year. If you want a conservative expectation, perhaps go for ‘by the end of 2024’ as a more realistic window.
Why is Advanced Voice Mode coming later?
OpenAI did make a public statement on X back in June, clarifying that safety issues had meant a delay in the mode’s rollout.
“We had planned to start rolling this out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but need one more month to reach our bar to launch,” the X post reads. “For example, we’re improving the model’s ability to detect and refuse certain content. We’re also working on improving the user experience and preparing our infrastructure to scale to millions while maintaining real-time responses.”
We’re sharing an update on the advanced Voice Mode we demoed during our Spring Update, which we remain very excited about:
We had planned to start rolling this out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users in late June, but need one more month to reach our bar to launch.…
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) June 25, 2024
The company seems to have stuck to this one-month extension, with at least a partial rollout coming almost exactly one month later.
Featured image: Unsplash
