Artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT is getting new voice and picture recognition abilities, allowing you to ask it questions out loud and have it analyze photos, OpenAI said in a blog post Monday.
You can now speak directly through the ChatGPT app, asking it questions and having it respond in an AI voice with answers. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to tell you a bedtime story, and it'll automatically generate a narrative and read it aloud.
As for photos, ChatGPT can now recognize elements in an image, enabling you to ask questions about them. OpenAI says you can snap a photo of your pantry and ChatGPT will analyze what's available and give you corresponding recipes. In another example, it's possible to snap a photo of your bike and ask ChatGPT how to lower the seat. The AI chatbot can then ask you to snap a pic of your toolbox and an available manual so that it can recommend the correct tools and instructions.
Voice recognition and picture analysis are rolling out in the next two weeks to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users.
ChatGPT's increased voice and image capabilities come as usage of the app has decreased since the beginning of this year. When ChatGPT launched last year, it quickly ballooned into the fastest-growing app in history, with an estimated 100 million active monthly users. By July, however, the app had seen its first decline in traffic, a sign that its novelty might have been waning or that increased competition from Google's Bard and Bing's AI chat were eating into its numbers.
Still, ChatGPT's impact on the greater tech landscape is undeniable. Since its launch, a number of companies have integrated generative AI tech into their software, from Duolingo to fitness apps.
Generative AI is far from perfect, however. Sometimes, AI can give misleading or incorrect information, but word it in a way that sounds convincing and confident. This is referred to as a hallucination, and is part of a growing glossary of terms needed to understand AI. It's also possible for malicious actors to scam people using AI-generated voices to impersonate real people. It's for this reason that OpenAI has limited ChatGPT to five voices.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap on New Features.
- Opt in to Voice Conversations.
- Tap the headphone button located at the top right corner for the home screen.
- Choose from five available voices.
Editors' note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.