OpenAI drops a big new ChatGPT feature with a joke about its CEO drama

ChatGPT’s voice feature lets you ask it a question by saying it aloud — and now it’s available for free.

ChatGPT’s voice feature is now available to all users for free. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI announced users can now tap the headphones icon to use their voice to talk with ChatGPT in the mobile app, as well as get an audible response.

OpenAI first rolled out the ability to prompt ChatGPT with your voice and images in September, but it only made the feature available to paying users.

The release comes as OpenAI’s staff struggle with the sudden ousting of their CEO and messy negotiations for him to return. The demo included in OpenAI’s post on X even jokes about the ongoing drama, which has unfolded late into the night over the past few days.

In the example, someone asks ChatGPT, “It’s been a long night for the team, and we’re hungry. How many 16-inch pizzas should I order for 778 people?” OpenAI has roughly the same number of employees, most of whom recently threatened to quit unless the entire board resigns.

Last week, OpenAI’s board fired co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after its members found “he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board.” Since then, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has invited Altman and his team members to start a new division at the tech giant, but Altman may make his way back to OpenAI.

Former OpenAI president Greg Brockman, who resigned after Altman’s ousting, reposted OpenAI’s announcement on X, stating, “Give it a try — totally changes the ChatGPT experience.” Brockman is also open to returning to OpenAI per The Verge’s reporting.