OpenAI introduced GPT-Live, a new generation of voice models designed to make speaking with AI feel more like a natural conversation. The models are now powering an upgraded ChatGPT Voice experience.
GPT-Live is built on a full-duplex architecture, which allows it to listen and speak at the same time. This enables more fluid conversations where ChatGPT can acknowledge that it is listening, respond quickly, pause when a user is thinking, or continue listening without interrupting.
The system also separates live interaction from deeper reasoning work. When a question requires web search, more complex reasoning, or agentic capabilities, GPT-Live can delegate that task to OpenAI’s frontier model in the background while maintaining the flow of conversation.
At launch, GPT-Live will use GPT-5.5 in the background for those more complex tasks. OpenAI said the background model used by GPT-Live will continue to be updated as new frontier models are released.
OpenAI is rolling out two versions of the model: GPT-Live-1 and GPT-Live-1 mini. The company said GPT-Live-1 will become the default model powering ChatGPT Voice for Go, Plus, and Pro users, while GPT-Live-1 mini will become the default for Free users.
The new ChatGPT Voice experience is rolling out globally across iOS, Android, and ChatGPT.com. OpenAI also plans to bring GPT-Live to the API soon, with developers and enterprises able to sign up for updates.
OpenAI said the upgraded voice experience includes more natural conversations, smarter answers, better listening, and visual responses. ChatGPT Voice can now show visual cards for topics such as weather, stocks, and sports while users are speaking.
The company also said ChatGPT Voice continues to support search, memory, images, and file uploads. Users can select different reasoning levels, including Instant for faster responses and Medium or High for tasks that require more thinking.
OpenAI said GPT-Live performed comparably to or better than Advanced Voice Mode across nearly all safety areas it evaluated. The company also added safeguards specific to voice, including real-time interventions, teen protections, and systems designed to prevent the model from imitating real people’s voices.
At launch, GPT-Live does not support voice with video or screen sharing in ChatGPT, though OpenAI said it is working to introduce those capabilities. Legacy versions of ChatGPT Voice, including Standard and Advanced Voice Mode, will remain available where those features are supported.
