ChatGPT Voice adds plugin support, letting spoken conversations finish real tasks

Setting it up takes preparation before Voice mode starts. Plugins have to be available on the user's ChatGPT account, and some need to be connected or require signing into the service behind them. TechRadar's reviewer, Eric Hal Schwartz, recommends completing that step first under Settings, then Plugins, because interrupting a hands-free conversation to deal with logins defeats the purpose. Voice mode is launched by tapping the Voice button at the right of the prompt window, and the Live voice model must be selected under Voice in Settings.

In the grocery test, the reviewer asked ChatGPT Voice to use the Instacart plugin, described ingredients already on hand and said dinner needed to be easy. The ability to keep talking and interrupt himself while looking through the refrigerator worked well, according to the review. ChatGPT suggested a recipe, listed the ingredients needed and assembled an Instacart order. The reviewer still had to look at the screen to approve the action, but did not have to manually carry results from ChatGPT into a grocery app, a process that normally involves moving between a recipe, the refrigerator and a shopping app.

Voice does not allow verbal approval of every consequential action a plugin might take. When confirmation is required, ChatGPT displays it on screen, the review said. Beyond that step, the reviewer described the process as doable over voice alone.

Plugin coverage is uneven. Spotify is not available, while Apple Music is, but Apple Music's plugin can find music and build playlists without using a listener's own library or recent listening history, which limited its appeal in the review. StubHub performed better, narrowing a search from a general idea for an evening out to a specific event and time. The reviewer said working through options in conversation suited the voice format, since users do not need to know exactly what they want before starting.

Availability depends on the account and can vary by plan, and the reviewer said he would remain selective about which plugins he connects. He wrote that he wants to see what he is doing before hitting an execute button, especially for a purchase, and that plugins do not make the screen obsolete.

ChatGPT Voice has always been good at talking, the review concluded. Adding plugins means the conversation does not have to end at the point where it becomes useful, and for some tasks the voice interface may be the easiest way to get something done without typing.