Editors note (10/3/24): This article was updated to include comment from OpenAI and new details of the EU and UK rollout of Advanced Voice mode.
As reported recently, ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice mode is launching this week for all ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers. However, the launch won’t happen in the EU, and we think we know why.
A tweet by OpenAI on X.com states simply, “Advanced Voice is not yet available in the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.” We initially wondered if this might have been because of the EU AI act, however when we contacted them, OpenAI denied this, pointing out that the EU AI act has not been enacted yet, and “Some parts of the world require additional external reviews before launching new products. This is a common practice to ensure the feature aligns with local requirements. These can take a little time. We hope to share an update soon.”
Since our initial report Advanced Voice mode has launched for ChatGPT Plus, Enterprise, Teams and Edu subscribers in the UK. Europe Teams, Enterprise and Edu is now starting to be available, but in Europe ChatGPT Plus rollout is still to come.
The persistence of memory
With Advanced Voice mode, you can talk to ChatGPT using your smartphone and get responses that make it feel like a real conversation with a human. To make it sound natural, Advanced Voice mode uses the GPT-4o LLM for faster responses and can interpret text, vision, and audio inputs. For example, you can ask it to look at something with your smartphone’s camera and give an opinion. It can also remember things about you, making your interactions more of a sustained conversation over time.
Additionally, there have been some improvements to Advanced Voice mode since we saw the first Alpha version. Now you get nine new voices (more than the five originally promised) including Arbor, Maple, Sol, Spruce, and Vale, and there’s a new blue orb visual effect as it talks.
Meet the five new voices. pic.twitter.com/F9BOUaJqG1September 24, 2024
Accents in foreign languages have also been improved:
We’ve also improved conversational speed, smoothness, and accents in select foreign languages. pic.twitter.com/d3QOIBFCZbSeptember 24, 2024
How do I know if I’ve got Advanced Voice mode?
Advanced Voice mode is only available to ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers. The rollout will be gradual but should be finished by the end of the week. You’ll know when you’ve got it because you’ll see a pop-up message next to the entry point to Voice Mode. But, as we mentioned previously, Advanced Voice is not yet available in the EU.
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