There’s been confliction on the idea of ChatGPT. On one hand, it can be very helpful when you have writer’s block and need to produce a spot quickly, it can even help with show prep. Others see it as taking away from the authenticity of the on air talent. Either way, it’s here and more and more people are starting to embrace it.

Recently, ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode came about and it allows you to have a conversation with the chatbot in real time.  According to Digitaltrends.com, OpenAI hasn’t said when or if they will release the new feature, but it was discovered in the latest beta build. Clearly, they want the ability to use it sometime in the future. OpenAI did a demo in May where they showed ChatGPT was able to see a dog through the phone’s camera. Then it was able to see a ball was the dog’s toy and relayed that to the audience.

The Voice Mode was only released in September to Plus and Enterprise subscribers, so that tech is fairly new as well. According to the company, the new voice technology “Offers more natural, real-time conversations, allows you to interrupt anytime, and senses and responds to your emotions.” In the last few days, OpenAI revealed Advanced Voice is available to others for use on your desktop computer. Obviously there’s a dollar amount attached to that, but it looks like OpenAI is making sure everyone has access to their technology.

What does this mean for radio? With this new technology, you can use it at remotes. You could possibly use it to identify previous winners. The conversation side could be used for prep. Eventually, it may be a quicker way to gather information for prep. This is great for production. Could the AI voice be used in spots? As far as that’s concerned, the water’s a little murky.

Like it or not, AI will continue to evolve and grow. It will be utilized in radio in some aspect. We can embrace it and not fear it. This is technology that could potentially keep radio relevant, along with the on-air talent.