Here’s a fun fact you can hold against me forever (and let’s be honest, you probably will): I’ve got Alexa, Waze, and every other talking gadget in my life set to respond with a female British accent. Imagine my delight last evening when “Vale” (one of ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode options) said, “Hello. It’s lovely to meet you.” with a voice that sounds like a mash-up of Emma Thompson, Mary Poppins, and Miss Moneypenny (with just a touch of Keira Knightley thrown in). Seriously, everything sounds better (and smarter) when spoken with a British accent.
My personal preferences for synthetic voices aside, OpenAI has officially begun rolling out its Advanced Voice Mode (AVM) to a broader set of ChatGPT’s paying users, starting with those in the Plus and Teams tiers. This new feature enhances the platform’s natural speech capabilities, and it is expected to reach Enterprise and Edu customers next week. Alongside this rollout, AVM has received a design update, shifting from the animated black dots introduced earlier to a new blue animated sphere (which is significantly more aesthetically pleasing).
There are five new voices – Arbor, Maple, Sol, Spruce, and Vale – bringing the total to nine. These voices, named after natural elements, aim to make interactions feel more organic. One voice (“Sky”) shown during a spring update has been removed following a legal challenge from Scarlett Johansson, whose voice it reportedly resembled.
In addition to new voices, OpenAI says it has made technical improvements to AVM, including better accent recognition, faster and smoother conversations, and expanded customization options like Custom Instructions and Memory.
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various generative AI models.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.