For the fastest way to join Tom's Guide Club enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all the latest news.
By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or
over, have read our
Privacy Policy
and agree to the
Terms & Conditions.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to
find out more information.
Join the Tom's Guide Club for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.
By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over,
have read our
Privacy Policy
and agree to the
Terms & Conditions. Geographical rules apply.
Here at Tom’s Guide our expert editors are committed to bringing you the best news, reviews and guides to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve!
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Join the club
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Your conversations with ChatGPT are about to get way more personal.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, announced yesterday (Monday) that it will be launching new voice and image features for the AI chatbot over the next two weeks.
Those that pay for a ChatGPT Plus subscription, as well as Enterprise users, will soon be able to have back-and-forth conversations with ChatGPT. Those using the free version will still be limited to text input. The speech features will include a set of human voices generated by real voice actors. A new text-to-speech model paired with the open-source speech recognition system Whisper will be powering these life-like conversations.
Article continues below
OpenAI certainly put its best foot forward when it released short samples of what ChatGPT’s new voices sound like reading a poem or a speech. They’re an audible step up from the generic AI voices some websites serve up to (robotically) voice their long-read pieces.
Having trouble finding the right words when talking to ChatGPT? The second big upgrade that’s coming is image chat functionality. If you momentarily forget the plastic or metal tips of the best running shoes shoelaces are called aglets but you urgently need to ask ChatGPT if they can be replaced, simply snap a photo and send it to the chat. You can discuss multiple images or use the drawing tool to guide the AI about the specific part of an image you’re referring to.
The processing of the images will be powered by GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models that can apply their language reasoning skills to different image types such as photographs, screenshots and documents containing both text and images, according to OpenAI.
Purposefully dumbed down
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
In its announcement about these new features, OpenAI acknowledged they create the potential for people to try to impersonate public figures or commit fraud.
Sign up to get the BEST of Tom's Guide direct to your inbox.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
“This is why we are using this technology to power a specific use case — voice chat. Voice chat was created with voice actors we have directly worked with,” said OpenAI.
When it comes to image processing, ChatGPT’s ability to analyze and make statements about people in photos has been purposefully limited “since ChatGPT is not always accurate and these systems should respect individuals’ privacy”, the company said.
Voice and image features are being rolled out to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users over the next two weeks. Voice will be available for iOS and Android users provided they opt-in. Image features can be used on all platforms.
Christoph Schwaiger is a journalist, mainly covering AI, health, and current affairs. His stories have been published by Tom's Guide, Live Science, New Scientist, and the Global Investigative Journalism Network, among other outlets. Christoph has appeared on LBC and Times Radio. Additionally, he previously served as a National President for Junior Chamber International (JCI), a global leadership organization, and graduated cum laude from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands with an MA in journalism. You can follow him on X (Twitter) @cschwaigermt.
Club Benefits
