OpenAI stunned users when it demonstrated an updated voice mode for the most advanced version of ChatGPT earlier this year.

Far from the kind of robotic voice that people have come to associate with digital assistants like Alexa or Siri, the ChatGPT advanced voice mode sounds remarkably lifelike. It responds in real-time, adjusts to being interrupted,  makes giggling noises when a user makes a joke, and judges a speaker’s emotional state based on their tone of voice. (During the initial demo, it also sounded suspiciously like Scarlett Johansson).

Starting on Tuesday, advanced voice mode — which works with the most powerful chatbot version, ChatGPT-4o — will begin rolling out to paid users. Advanced voice mode will start rolling out to a small group of subscribers to the app’s “Plus” mode, to make it available to all Plus users in the fall.

ChatGPT already has a less sophisticated voice mode. But the rollout of a more advanced voice mode could mark a major turning point for OpenAI, transforming what was already a significant AI chatbot into something more akin to a virtual, personal assistant that users can engage in natural, spoken conversations in much the same way that they would chat to a friend. The ease of conversing with ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode could encourage users to engage with the tool more often and pose a challenge to virtual assistant incumbents like Apple and Amazon.