The 12 days of OpenAI "Shipmas" came calling, and ChatGPT answered. On the tenth day of OpenAI's extravaganza, the AI firm announced that it's bringing ChatGPT directly to your contact list as part of its broader mission to make artificial intelligence accessible to all humanity.
According to OpenAI chief product officer Kevin Weil:
“[Our mission at] OpenAI is to make artificial general intelligence beneficial to all of humanity, and part of that is making it as accessible as possible to as many people as we can. Today, we’re taking the next step and bringing ChatGPT to your telephone.”
Users can interact with the AI-powered chatbot by dialing (1-800-242-8478), but it's restricted to users based in the US. However, users in other regions reach ChatGPT via WhatsApp messages. According to the ChatGPT maker, users will get 15 minutes for free every month.
It's worth noting that users can dial the number regardless of whether they have an account. Interestingly, the company indicated it's exploring ways to integrate WhatsApp messages with the user's ChatGPT credentials. While speaking to The Verge, OpenAI spokesperson Taya Christianson indicated the company won’t use the direct calls to ChatGPT to train its AI models.
For context, the new experience is reminiscent of OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode, which allows users to interact with the chatbot in real-time. This way, the tool can respond to the user's queries over the phone.
This move is crucial to ChatGPT's continued growth and adoption. It will allow users with limited access to high-speed data to continue leveraging the chatbot's advanced AI capabilities without worrying about interrupted connections.
