OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research company behind ChatGPT, on Wednesday postponed the launch of Voice Mode, a standout feature that was wildly popular when it was introduced in a product update last month. The company said it needed “one more month” of work, an announcement that drew harsh criticism from users and the AI community.
Speech mode was probably the most notable announcement at the OpenAI event, unveiled alongside the release of ChatGPT-40, its latest large-scale language model. This allowed users to interact with the chatbot via voice and engage in natural conversations.
The demo also included a comparison to the sci-fi film “Her,” in which actress Scarlett Johansson provided a virtual voice. Johansson soon threatened OpenAI with legal action over a similar voice, and the company soon announced that it would remove the voice from its library.
OpenAI announced the delay, saying it would not be able to advance the feature in its planned limited “alpha” release in June because more work was needed.
“We are improving our model’s ability to detect and reject specific content,” the company explained. “We are also working to improve the user experience and prepare our infrastructure to scale into the millions while maintaining real-time responsiveness.”
Users didn’t like what they read, and OpenAI’s announcement was soon met with a wave of scorn from the AI community.
Many critics were quick to point out OpenAI’s history of overpromising and underdelivering when comparing its performance with its competitors. “Be like humanity,” tweeted AI enthusiast Ashutosh Shrivastava. “They don’t do demos or hype to be quiet for three or four months.”
AI Youtuber Matt Wolfe claimed that the delay was part of OpenAI’s business strategy.
“Show off something interesting to show how ahead of everyone else you are and don’t let people actually use it,” he said, calling the move the “conch treat.” Sora, a generative video tool, is another OpenAI product that has received widespread praise but is not yet widely used.
Benjamin De Kraker, founder of FinalFrame AI, shared his frustration with OpenAI, claiming that it promotes certain features that are later terminated due to lack of use or interest.
“Plugins are dead, GPT store is dead, voice is delayed, memory is mediocre,” he tweeted. “The core model and API are solid, but ‘all of this changes the way people use AI!’ The hype bombed.”
The delay has led many users to question the value of their ChatGPT Plus subscription. Peruvian medical researcher Patrick Wieghardt suggested that now may be the time to end the subscription, while other users said they had already canceled their subscriptions. “Right now, I don’t see any reason to pay for something you’re giving away for free,” wrote one AI newsletter publisher.
Some observers believe a full rollout of voice mode could be months away. Ryan Morrison, AI editor tom’s guideHe said he believed mid-November would be a more realistic time, after the U.S. election.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. decryption.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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