With more than a decade of experience, Nelson covers Apple and Google and writes about iPhone and Android features, privacy and security settings, and more.
I really didn't expect much the first time I tapped the tiny wavelength icon to try ChatGPT's Voice Mode. I figured it was just another AI gimmick. After all, I've been disappointed by voice assistants before -- but this isn't Siri.
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Voice Mode slips effortlessly into the give-and-take of a real human conversation, catching my pauses, half-finished thoughts and throw-away "ums." I can figure out what I'm making for dinner while inching through LA traffic or brush up on my Polish while wiping down counters in my apartment. All without breaking the conversational flow or ever reaching for my keyboard.
ChatGPT 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.
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.
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.
