OpenAI’s new hotline: Chat with ChatGPT anytime, anywhere

For the 10th day of OpenAI’s “12 Days of Shipmas” event, the company decided to go a bit old-school by launching a phone number for people to call and speak with ChatGPT.

U.S.-based users can call 1-800-ChatGPT (1-800-242-8478) on any device that can make calls — including a rotary phone — as OpenAI demonstrated in its live stream. If you have an international number, you can message ChatGPT using WhatsApp.

It might seem odd that ChatGPT, which has a web version, mobile apps on iOS and Android, and desktop applications for MacOS and Windows, will need a phone number to ask ChatGPT a question. But OpenAI explained that the feature is ideal for those without consistent data connections. 

Deploying AI wherever it can

OpenAI said the feature enables wider access to ChatGPT. After all, calling a phone number is usually free and accessible for people who may not have unlimited data or who are not close to a Wi-Fi connection. 

However, anyone who wants to call ChatGPT can only do so for 15 minutes a month. 

This isn’t the first time a tech company has utilized calling or texting to expand its user base. In countries like the Philippines, Facebook offers a way for people to use SMS to post on the social media platform. This proved a boon in expanding Facebook’s reach in the Philippines, where most people have a cellphone, although not necessarily a smartphone. Filipinos are now some of the largest users of the social network. 

Not that ChatGPT is hurting for users. It is still one of the most used AI platforms out there, even with more competition in the market. OpenAI said its business offerings, ChatGPT Enterprise, Team and Edu alone, logged more than 1 million users as of September. A month earlier, ChatGPT itself reached 200 million users.

OpenAI offers ChatGPT for free, but it gives its more advanced models and other powerful features to subscribers at the Plus, Teams, Pro, Enterprise and Edu levels. 

“This is an experimental way to talk to ChatGPT, so availability and limits may change,” the company said. “For a fuller experience with more tools, higher limits and more personalization, existing users should continue using ChatGPT directly through their accounts.”

The drawbacks

Calling ChatGPT feels like using OpenAI’s Voice and Advanced Voice Model. I called ChatGPT and asked for ideas on what to do during a layover in Tokyo. As expected, it gave me some suggestions. 

The difference though, is I did not get a readout of my conversation with ChatGPT. If I use Advanced Voice Mode, anything we discussed is transposed into a written chat that I can look back at when I log into my account. 

I also highly doubt any developers will call ChatGPT and ask it to code anything. 

But the feature is interesting and it does work. Not bad for something OpenAI developers created just a few weeks ago for a Hack Week.