ChatGPT has had support for voice conversations since the end of 2023, but if you're new to OpenAI's chatbot, figuring out how to converse with it can be tricky since there are a couple of ways to go about it. In this guide, I'll explain the main differences between ChatGPT's two voice modes and how to use both of them. As of the writing of this article, OpenAI offers two different ways of interacting with ChatGPT using your voice: "Standard" and "Advanced." The former is available to all users, with usage counting against one's message limit. "Advanced," meanwhile, has more granular restrictions.

The future is coming, and that means making sure you're well-versed in AI usage for when it matters. And while there are all kinds of AI tools now, the most prominent one remains AI chatbots like ChatGPT. When I take a step back and look at my own AI chatbot use, that's what I'm predominantly doing with it: educating myself. Sure, I'm learning new skills and finding answers to questions when my kids stump me, but ultimately what I'm doing when I play around with the likes of ChatGPT Plus and Copilot Pro is learning how to use AI, period. And now that these AI chatbots have come out with premium subscription plans with even more advanced features, I wouldn't blame you if you're confused about why they have paid plans, what the benefits are, and whether they're worth paying for.

Even though Microsoft is a heavy investor in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT chose to first release the AI chatbot's desktop app on macOS before Windows back in May of this year. Now, the wait is over for Windows users. The ChatGPT desktop app is finally available on Windows, but with an important caveat: this is an "early version" for paid subscribers who are part of ChatGPT's Plus, Team, Enterprise, or Edu plans. Once you install the app, all you need to do is press the Alt Space keyboard shortcut to launch a new conversation with ChatGPT. The desktop app has access to OpenAI's latest AI models, and you can perform all the core tasks you'd expect from ChatGPT, including asking it questions, having it analyze images, and uploading files to it.

OpenAI just announced via X/Twitter that the Advanced Voice feature is finally being released to ChatGPT. This exciting update allows users to have more natural spoken-language conversations with the chatbot, bringing us yet another step closer to Her becoming reality. Advanced Voice isn't just "ChatGPT with text-to-speech" -- it uses its underlying GPT-4o technology to analyze the tone and speed of your voice and pick up on non-verbal cues like body language, then itself responds with emotion in its own voice. With five new voices, ChatGPT feels more alive than ever. The responses come faster so it feels like you're holding a real-time conversation, and the update improves accents in (certain) non-English languages.