Have a question about ChatGPT but no Wi-Fi connection? OpenAI has introduced a new way to connect with its popular AI chatbot for US users: Call 1-800-CHATGPT or 1-800-242-8478.
OpenAI announced the feature on Wednesday and showed how it works through a YouTube live streaming. OpenAI researchers dialed the number with everything from an iPhone, a rotary phone to a landline. Regardless of the medium, the end result was the same: A female voice saying, “Hello again, it's ChatGPT, an AI assistant. Our conversation may be reviewed for security. How may I help you?”
In the live demo, ChatGPT helped identify landmarks that a researcher said he saw on a trip. On another occasion, she provided another researcher with an English-to-Spanish translation so she could greet a friend's grandmother in Spanish.
The move to have ChatGPT available over the phone is part of the company's goal to make AI “as accessible as possible to as many people as possible,” said OpenAI product lead Kevin Weil. in the demo video.
Right now, each phone number is limited to 15 free minutes of call time, with no plan disclosed monetize the feature.
Only US users can call ChatGPT, but OpenAI also announced on Wednesday that global users can access the chatbot by texting the number 1-800-242-8478 via WhatsApp. In the demo, ChatGPT offered a recipe for a pesto pasta dinner over WhatsApp and modified it to be vegan at the user's request.
Both the calling and messaging features include chatting with ChatGPT without creating an account.
The OpenAI team built this capability in a matter of weeks, according to Weil.
“They were very quick to send it and it's great to see it here,” he said.
This feature is one of many announcements that OpenAI has made as part of “12 Days of OpenAIOther new features released by the company at the same event include opening ChatGPT Search for all usersfree or paid, and releasing it Sora text-to-video generator for the general public.
Related: Is ChatGPT Search better than Google? I tried the new search engine to find out.