Grace Ashiru
In the past week, there have been conflicting reports predicting OpenAI’s plans. Some suggested they might announce an AI search engine to rival Google and Perplexity, while others speculated about a voice assistant integrated into GPT-4 or the launch of GPT-5 ahead of the Google IO event.
However, OpenAI has put those rumors to rest. At their event yesterday, they launched an improved iteration of their GPT-4 model, called GPT-4o (with the “o” standing for omni). This new version is faster, free, and enhances capabilities across text, vision, and audio.
GPT-4o marks a significant evolution in the GPT models, transforming ChatGPT into a digital personal assistant that responds in real-time and observes the world around you.
The voice mode of ChatGPT has received a significant upgrade with the rollout of GPT-4o. Moving past its previous limitations of responding to only one prompt at a time and working solely with what it can hear, the app now embodies characteristics similar to the intelligent voice assistant in the 2013 film “Her.” It offers real-time responsiveness and environmental awareness.
Its multimodal capabilities now enable seamless interaction via text and “vision,” allowing it to interpret and engage in real-time spoken conversations about screenshots, images, documents, and charts uploaded by users.
Additionally, the updated version includes memory capabilities, enabling it to learn from past interactions and provide more contextually relevant responses. Furthermore, GPT-4o facilitates real-time translation.
Meanwhile, the full potential of GPT-4o is still emerging. For now, only the text and image capabilities are accessible, with other features expected to be introduced in the coming days.
It’s worth noting that this model iteration is free and doesn’t require any subscription. However, if you have been a subscriber before, it’s advisable to continue your subscription.
Subscribers of ChatGPT Plus can use the new GPT-4o to send more prompts per hour compared to non-subscribers. This means you can send GPT-4o five times as many prompts before needing to wait or switch to a less powerful model.
Interestingly, this is the first time OpenAI is unveiling a new language model without a subscription fee, unlike GPT-4, which was introduced in March last year and was initially available only to ChatGPT Plus and GPT-4 Turbo subscribers.
Based on available information, the new voice mode feature will first be accessible to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, who currently number about 250,000 globally, according to data from Nerdynav, before it becomes available to non-subscribers.
