According to OpenAI’s blog, they will begin rolling out new voice and image capabilities in ChatGPT in the coming weeks. As the title of the article clearly spells out – ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak (or at least it will be able to in the near future).
ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users will get access to the new voice and image capabilities in the next two weeks. Additional groups will gain access soon after (though an exact timeline isn’t provided).
Talk to ChatGPT
The first new feature is the ability to use your voice to engage with ChatGPT and have it respond in a human-like voice. OpenAI demonstrates these new capabilities in a video (within the article referenced above) where a user asks ChatGPT to tell them a story about a fictional character. In the video, ChatGPT then proceeds to read a story (in seems to have created on the spot) out loud over the user’s device speakers.
Discuss an Image
Users will soon be able to show ChatGPT one or more images and chat about them. The example OpenAI provides in their blog is a video of a user showing ChatGPT a photo of their bicycle and asking for help adjusting the seat.
The video shows the user circling a specific part of the bike to draw focus to it (the caption reads “Optional: Draw on your image to focus ChatGPT”) allowing them to ask specific question about that part. One of the most interesting use cases demonstrated was when the user shows ChatGPT an image of the bike’s user manual and then a picture of their toolbox and proceeds to ask “do I have the right tool?”
Gradual Rollout
As mentioned above, OpenAI will be rolling these new capabilities to Plus and Enterprise users in the next two weeks. OpenAI states they will be rolling out these new features gradually to ensure they are both safe and useful. Making the tools available gradually will allow them “to make improvements and refine risk mitigations over time while also preparing everyone for more powerful systems in the future.”
Concluding Thoughts
It will be interesting to see if this keeps ChatGPT’s momentum going after a usage began trending downward this summer. Between back-to-school season and new functionality we expect to see a lot more ChatGPT hype in the coming weeks. The SEO is dead articles have already begun to pick up. We believe this could also be OpenAI hoping to get ahead of Google’s pending release of SGE.