ChatGPT’s voice mode just got a major upgrade – here are 5 things you need to know

• ChatGPT voice mode just got a significant new update
• Voice mode conversations now take place in the main chat window
• You can also see transcribed messages, maps, weather and more

ChatGPT’s voice mode has long been a powerful way to augment your conversations with the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, but it’s had a few weaknesses that have held it back.

Now, though, OpenAI has updated ChatGPT to fix some of the major complaints people have had with voice mode, which should make it even more useful than before. Here’s everything you need to know:

1. It now lives inside your chat

Posting on X, OpenAI explained that you will now be able to use ChatGPT’s voice mode inside the chat module itself, with “no separate mode needed.” That could prove to be an important change that makes your experience much smoother.

In previous iterations, you could start a text-based conversation with ChatGPT, but as soon as you switched to speaking, the screen would enter a separate voice mode. Now, enable voice chat during a text discussion and ChatGPT won’t miss a beat, continuing the exact same conversation without resetting or starting from scratch.

2. You can still go back to the old interface

Don’t like ChatGPT’s new way of doing things? That’s OK, because you can still put things back to the way they used to be.

Despite the new interface, you can revert the interface by tapping your account in the bottom-left corner of the app to open Settings, scrolling down to the Voice mode section, and toggling 'Separate mode'.

If the previous layout felt familiar and easier to navigate, this might be something you want to do.

3. It’ll show you maps and more

There are other benefits to the new update. Visually, you’ll get a live transcript of your discussion and can review earlier messages after they’ve been completed. Plus, ChatGPT will be able to display the local weather forecast or a requested map within the chat window.

That transforms your voice chats into a sort of hybrid mode that blends voice, text and informative widgets to give you the information you need at a glance.

4. It still uses a different model to chat

There’s something else to be aware of with the updated voice mode: the model that powers it.

While text-based chats with OpenAI’s bot can be powered using the latest GPT 5.1 model, OpenAI says that voice sessions on paid plans “automatically begin with” GPT-4o, then switch to GPT-4o mini when your GPT-4o minutes have been used up.

GPT-4o is the company’s “most advanced voice model,” but it’s an earlier and less capable model than GPT-5.1 – so even though voice now lives inside chat, you won't get exactly the same experience or answers when using voice mode.

5. Paid subscribers get different voice models

Your usage of voice mode also depends on whether you have a paid ChatGPT plan or not. OpenAI says that for subscribers, “your daily use of ChatGPT voice is nearly unlimited each day” and is powered by GPT-4o, as noted before. Free users, on the other hand, will be placed on the GPT-4o mini model from the start and have limited usage each day.

Regardless of which plan you’re on, you should feel the benefits of the new ChatGPT voice mode update. OpenAI says it’s “rolling out to all users on mobile and web,” and you just need to update your app to take advantage.

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