OpenAI Just Introduced More Ways to Use ChatGPT in WhatsApp
Back in December, OpenAI introduced a new way to communicate with ChatGPT: You can contact the generative AI by calling 1-800-CHATGPT (no, really)—or, if you have WhatsApp, you can send a text message to the same number to share what’s on your mind.
While many of ChatGPT’s distinctive features were missing, the bulk of the experience was still present. You send a message or ask ChatGPT something out loud, and the bot answers you in kind. For WhatsApp users, it’s a lot like sending a message to a friend – only that friend immediately responds with a detailed reply, entirely generated by artificial intelligence. (We all have a friend like that, right?)
Now, less than two months after introducing a new way to communicate with ChatGPT, OpenAI is expanding its capabilities to WhatsApp. There are two key updates here: first, you can now upload and send images while chatting with ChatGPT, which means you can ask the bot to analyze a photo or provide an image as additional context to a broader request.
Secondly, you can send voice messages to ChatGPT. If there are times when you are unable to call ChatGPT and talk for a long time, but don’t want to type a full question, you can simply send a voice message instead.
OpenAI also said that the company is working on allowing users to link their ChatGPT accounts (free, Plus or Pro) with WhatsApp, but this feature has not yet been implemented.
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While these updates should make it a little easier for WhatsApp users to use ChatGPT through the messaging app, the entire experience is still quite limited: OpenAI gives all US numbers 15 minutes of talk time per month, with a “daily limit” on WhatsApp messages. Additionally, data for this experience is blacked out as of October 2023 , so don’t expect this version of ChatGPT to know anything that has happened in the last year and a half.
If you like ChatGPT, you should probably just download the ChatGPT app. However, if you only want to interact with a bot once in a blue moon and don’t want to clutter your phone with yet another app (another AI app at that), sure – send ChatGPT all the images and voice messages you want (or, more accurately, can).