OpenAI today launched new conversational models, called GPT-Live-1 and GPT-Live-1 mini, saying they sound more natural and can handle turn-taking better. These are full-duplex models, meaning they can talk and listen at the same time, allowing users to interrupt naturally and enable features like live translation.

The company is also replacing its current advanced voice mode in ChatGPT with GPT-Live-1 mini by default. Paid tier users will be able to access the larger GPT-Live-1 model. The previous model combined a speech-to-text model to transcribe speech, a large language model to generate responses, and a text-to-speech model to deliver the final response.

The company said in a press conference that the new models solve problems such as interrupting users while they speak and not having enough intelligence to answer questions. OpenAI’s new models will send the query to their latest text models, such as GPT-5.5, for search, reasoning, or agency capabilities while continuing the conversation.

OpenAI also demonstrated that the model can remain silent for a long time and absorb the context of the conversation until prompted. Additionally, since the new voice mode has access to newer GPT models, it can also present certain information in a visual format. Other startups like Monogram, which raised $40 million in seed funding from DST and Lux ​​Capital, are also leaning into visual responses to make attendees more interactive.

The company said the new voice mode in ChatGPT is designed for longer conversations. During the briefing, ChatGPT Voice product lead Atty Eleti said he has had 30-40 minute long conversations with the voice feature during walks.

OpenAI believes that voice could be computing’s primary interface for complex jobs. Reports have suggested that it could launch a pair of headphones with AI capabilities this year. However, it did not provide any information about hardware products.

“Over time, we think this will also unlock the ability to use voice as a kind of primary interface for computing and for managing increasingly complex long-running agent jobs. We think that the kind of amazing use cases that we see people using Codex and ChatGPT to achieve, voice can be the future interface for all types of work,” Eleti said.

OpenAI has been working to beef up voice-based features over the past few years to make ChatGPT’s voice mode sound more natural. The company said more than 150 million people talk to ChatGPT using features like voice and dictation.

Rivals are also trying to make attendees more expressive.

Both Apple and Amazon have updated their assistants to be more conversational and have better context management. Startups like Sesame, founded by Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe and Ankit Kumar, also launched AI assistants with more natural conversations while completing tasks in the background.

OpenAI is moving in the same direction, aiming to allow users to talk to their assistant hands-free for longer. Despite claiming that the new voice mode sounds more natural, the company emphasized that it does not intend to make it an AI companion. He noted that the new models have built-in safeguards to provide age-appropriate responses to teens and provide resources if the conversation turns to topics such as self-harm.

The new voice mode still needs improvements. During the demo, when the company showed off its live Hindi translation feature, the assistant had a thick American accent and spoke in unnatural-sounding Hindi with a slightly studious tone. The company said the new mode is optimized for “most spoken languages,” but did not specify which ones.