Amid Sam Altman's Return As CEO, OpenAI Makes This ChatGPT Feature Free For All Users

Amidst the recent developments surrounding the firing and subsequent reinstatement of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI, the company has made its new ‘Chat with Voice’ feature available for free to all ChatGPT users.

This means that even if a user is not a paying ChatGPT Plus subscriber, they will still be able to use OpenAI’s new ChatGPT feature, which allows for full-fledged conversations with the chatbot. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the company announced that “ChatGPT with voice is now available to all free users. Download the app on your phone and tap the headphones icon to start a conversation.”

In the process, the demo shared by OpenAI playfully addresses the current situation at the company and states, “It’s been a long night for the team, and we’re hungry. How many 16-inch pizzas should I order for 778 people?” ChatGPT then provides a detailed response, noting it would require 195 16-inch pizzas if 778 employees each consume three slices. Notably, OpenAI has an employee base of similar proportions, and the majority among them were the very individuals who threatened to walk out of OpenAI if the board did not rehire Sam Altman.

News18 Tech had the opportunity to test the feature using the ChatGPT app on iOS. The feature feels responsive; ChatGPT’s responses sound as if they are coming from a real person, and the entire experience feels like a next-generation voice assistant. The AI assistant can now respond to you, take pauses, making the entire process more convenient and natural.

With that said, Sam Altman has returned to his position as CEO of OpenAI, after a series of bizarre developments that included Microsoft extending an offer for Altman and his team to join its new AI division, OpenAI’s hiring of a new interim CEO—Emmett Shear (former CEO of Twitch), and an alleged mass walkout of employees if OpenAI’s board failed to hire Altman back.