I called ChatGPT’s new phone number – it’s free to dial and feels like chatting to a human but there’s a big downside

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I called ChatGPT’s new phone number – it’s free to dial and feels like chatting to a human but there’s a big downside
Author: Sean Keach
Published: Dec, 19 2024 15:45

I JUST picked up the phone and called ChatGPT. No, not the company, but the chatbot itself – in a bizarre blend of old and new technologies. The AI-powered chatbot has been available in text form for ages – and even as a voice bot inside the app – but it's now at the end of a phone line.

 [You can now call ChatGPT on the phone – and The Sun's tech editor Sean Keach gave it a go]
Image Credit: The Sun [You can now call ChatGPT on the phone – and The Sun's tech editor Sean Keach gave it a go]

It's part of what OpenAI calls an "experimental new launch" that gives ChatGPT a regular old phone number. Just dial 1-800-ChatGPT (or 1-800-242-8478) in the United States and you'll be put right through to an artificial intelligence with a strikingly human voice. No luck for Brits yet, sorry.

 [Just save ChatGPT's number to your contacts and give it a ring]
Image Credit: The Sun [Just save ChatGPT's number to your contacts and give it a ring]

It feels a little bit like one of those automated call systems has come to life. But very quickly, it seems as though you're chatting with a real person. The main giveaway is that they're way too upbeat for someone fielding inane questions all day, but it's otherwise convincing.

 [OpenAI released the new ChatGPT phone number as part of a series of new features launching before Christmas]
Image Credit: The Sun [OpenAI released the new ChatGPT phone number as part of a series of new features launching before Christmas]

The call begins with a warning that your conversation might be reviewed for safety. So don't go spilling your secrets on the phone call because someone at OpenAI HQ might hear all about it. I started by asking ChatGPT how it felt about being a phone number.

"It's quite the adventure. Switching from text to voice lets me connect in a whole new way," ChatGPT told me over the phone. It added that it "makes our conversation feel more personal". The phone-bot isn't wrong, so I ask what people are using the phone number for – and what the big advantage is versus just texting.

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