ChatGPT Voice desktop launch adds hands-free task support
OpenAI is bringing GPT Live voice features to the ChatGPT desktop app, with hands-free task control and Codex support for programmers.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Voice desktop features that let users speak to the ChatGPT app while asking it to handle tasks in the background. The rollout brings the company’s GPT Live voice technology from mobile devices to desktop and laptop computers, where it can be used during work sessions and coding.
OpenAI said the feature is designed for ongoing spoken conversations with ChatGPT rather than one-off voice commands. Users can start it through a Voice button in the ChatGPT desktop app or set a hotkey so they can talk to ChatGPT while using other software.
What is ChatGPT Voice on desktop?
ChatGPT Voice is OpenAI’s new desktop voice feature for the ChatGPT app. It uses GPT Live, the company’s newer voice technology, to support more natural conversations while the assistant carries out tasks.
The company first added voice recognition to ChatGPT in 2024. OpenAI released GPT Live on mobile devices earlier this month, and the desktop release extends those capabilities to PCs.
OpenAI said ChatGPT Voice will work while users are coding through Codex, its programming product. Codex competes with Anthropic’s Claude Code and is now part of a broader work-focused ChatGPT product.
The desktop release also puts the voice tool in front of software developers, a group that often uses AI systems heavily while writing and reviewing code. OpenAI has tied the feature to Codex so users can speak instructions while they continue working in other apps.
What can users ask ChatGPT Voice to do?
OpenAI said users can begin several work streams from one conversation and keep talking while agents complete tasks in the background. In one example from the company, a user planning a work trip could ask ChatGPT to check a calendar for conflicts, look through an inbox for flight changes and prepare meeting notes while the user does something else.
The company also said the feature can help users talk through an idea while ChatGPT creates a document that lays out the concept and next steps. OpenAI described the launch as a move toward a system where users can speak through what they need and have ChatGPT move multiple tasks ahead at once.
OpenAI has been pushing voice as a point of distinction among AI model companies. Bloomberg has reported that a forthcoming OpenAI hardware device is expected to be an in-home speaker and conversation partner, and GPT Live may play a role in that device.
OpenAI merged Codex into ChatGPT on July 9 to create a product called ChatGPT Work. At that time, the company said Codex had 5 million weekly users.
After the ChatGPT Work launch, Thibault Sottiaux, who oversees Codex, said on X that the product had reached 10 million users. OpenAI’s latest voice release connects that growing coding audience with hands-free control inside the desktop app.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.