NEW YORK, Sept 26, (Agencies): Many individuals enjoy interacting with ChatGPT for various purposes, whether it's for playful experimentation, acing college entrance exams, debugging code, or engaging in serious tasks. However, while virtual assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa provide voice support, ChatGPT has primarily been a text-based tool.

This is about to change as OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, have announced the introduction of voice and image recognition capabilities to the platform. OpenAI states, "You can now have a conversation with your assistant using your voice. Use it on the move, request a bedtime story for your family, or let your grumpy uncle debate with ChatGPT during dinner."

With this update, OpenAI has aimed to make the new speech-to-text and text-to-speech features as natural as possible. The provided samples on OpenAI's blog sound quite convincing, with lifelike cadences. ChatGPT continues to improve, and its evolution over the coming years remains uncertain.

However, there is a potential downside to these enhancements. While ChatGPT might not respond to harmful inquiries like "How do I make a bomb?" at present, there's a concern that people may attempt to misuse the technology. Nonetheless, the addition of voice support feels like a natural progression for ChatGPT.

The inclusion of image support is also noteworthy. OpenAI mentions that you can troubleshoot issues like a malfunctioning grill, plan meals by checking your fridge's contents, or analyze complex work-related data graphs. It will be intriguing to see how this feature compares to Google's Lens application.

Initially, ChatGPT Plus and enterprise users will have access to these new features, with the rollout beginning in the next two weeks. Other user groups, including developers, will follow suit, implying that the broader public may need to wait a bit longer. Google's Gemini, set to be released later this year, will likely provide stiff competition for ChatGPT in this evolving landscape.