If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — or maybe even upgrade it. OpenAI has decided, for now, to keep Standard Voice Mode available for ChatGPT customers after some hard backlash against its replacement, Advanced Voice Mode.
As OpenAI VP and ChatGPT boss Nick Turley posted on X and also on the Open AI website: “We’ve heard feedback that Standard Voice is special to many, and we want to get this transition right.” He added: “Standard Voice will stay available while we address some of your feedback in Advanced Voice. Stay tuned, more improvements to Advanced Voice Mode are coming soon!”
OpenAI had initially planned to decommission SVM after 30 days, as it announced on Aug. 7, and then rename it ChatGPT Voice. On June 7, the company announced updates to Advanced Mode, promising “significant enhancements in intonation and naturalness, making interactions feel more fluid and human-like.” There would also be “intuitive and effective language translation.”
But the backlash to AVM was fierce. Reddit poster Key_Blackberry3799 wrote on the r/ChatGPT subreddit: “That voice sounds so unnatural. Not sure why they want to get rid of what works well and what so many people appreciate. User magicznaoctava said: “It wasn’t perfect. But it felt human. Warm. Real. Is empathy no longer profitable?”
On the OpenAI Developer Community site, Will Cureton said, “GPT Voice (Advanced) gives partial response that are still fairly shallow, often inaccurate, and although sounding more human lack the fundamental integrity of the raw model.”
Despite the revolt, others seem more enthusiastic for Advanced Voice Mode. Reddit poster WanderWut said, “Personally I’m excited for an even better advanced voice mode as to me it has a ton of potential and I dig the realism behind it. This just encourages them even more to make advanced something great.”
How to Use Standard Voice Mode
For most ChatGPT customers, the Advanced Voice Mode is on by default, but you can change it to SVM. First, click or tap your username, then select ‘Settings’ and then ‘Customize ChatGPT’. Then scroll down to Advanced and uncheck or toggle off ‘Advanced voice’ and select Save. Voila!
For those who want to keep using AVM, it will be free for everyone, with a limited amount of hours daily for free subscribers and “near-unlimited” use for Plus subscribers.
