ChatGPT receives this week the feature that users have been asking for months

The company has announced that ChatGPT subscribers will have access to this new feature in ‘alpha state’. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman already previewed the feature last week.

OpenAI shook up the tech world in November 2026 by introducing ChatGPT, an AI-powered platform that has managed to democratize synthetic content generation, or, put another way, has made it possible for every self-respecting human to try their hand at creating text or an image using AI.

Now, the company has revealed that it has a long-awaited update ready for its popular chatbot. According to a recent social media post by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, subscribers to the ChatGPT Plus service — a service that costs $20 per month — will have access to the new voice feature starting this week.

On Wednesday, OpenAI explained more about the launch of the new feature: “We are beginning to roll out the advanced voice mode to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users,” they stated on their X account (Twitter), where they also pointed out that “users of this alpha will receive an email with instructions and a message in their mobile app” and assured that they will continue “adding more people on an ongoing basis” and that they plan for all subscribers of the paid version “to have access in the fall.”

What is ChatGPT Voice Mode

The advanced voice mode “offers more natural conversations in real time, allows you to interrupt at any time, and detects and responds to your emotions,” explains OpenAI.

Basically, this feature allows users to interact with ChatGPT through spoken commands. It was initially demonstrated in May of this year and, in said demonstration, the AI ​​voice sounded surprisingly similar to the character played by Scarlett Johansson in the film ‘Her’, which generated great expectation.

However, OpenAI decided to withdraw that specific voice option after some controversy with the actress.

Now they comment that they have tested “GPT-4o’s voice capabilities with more than 100 external red teamers in 45 languages” and that “to protect people’s privacy,” they have trained the model “to only speak with the four preset voices” and have built “systems to block outputs that differ from those voices.” They also confirm that “safeguards have been implemented to block requests for violent or copyrighted content.”

Silicon Valley squabbles aside, the new feature promises to be a significant advance in human-computer interaction. ChatGPT Plus users, who already enjoy benefits such as faster response times and access to the latest versions of the model, will soon be able to experience a “more natural and fluid” way of communicating with AI thanks to GPT-4o.

“Screen sharing and video capabilities” will also be rolled out in the future, but these “will be released at a later date,” the company said in its X post.

The launch of the voice feature comes at a key time, as ChatGPT will soon be integrated into Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, as well as the Cupertino company’s new operating systems.

When will ChatGPT’s voice mode be generally available?

ChatGPT fans have been asking OpenAI about voice mode almost daily, and the feature is finally coming to some paid subscribers.

For now, the platform’s voice mode has been delayed because the company needed «one more month» to reach its «launch goal,» which was to improve the «model’s ability to detect and reject certain content.»

A key word in the announcement is that the improvement comes in ‘alpha state,’ meaning it is an early version of the feature that still has some way to go. Normally, these releases are deployed among a small group of users so they can test it and give feedback on the experience.

Remember that, at the time of the demonstration of this novelty, OpenAI said that it would arrive «in the next few weeks,» pointing to the end of June, which explains the desire of the technological community and ChatGPT users to try it out.

The company is citing privacy concerns to justify the delays: “Since we first demonstrated Advanced Voice Mode, we’ve been working to strengthen the security and quality of voice conversations as we prepare to bring this cutting-edge technology to millions of people.”

OpenAI has announced that it plans to “share a detailed report on the capabilities, limitations, and security assessments” of GPT-4o’s Advanced Voice “in early August.”