ChatGPT Voice's new plugins make voice more useful

Date:
Mon, 28 Sep 2026 14:01:03 +0000

Description:
I tried ChatGPT Voice with plugins and found that connected apps make voice considerably more useful.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter ChatGPT Voice has learned a useful new trick. When you're using the new Live voice model it can now use plugins and connected apps while you are talking to it, bringing services and brands into a spoken conversation.

I spent some time trying the combination with everyday tasks. Instead of asking ChatGPT about dinner and then opening a grocery app myself, for example, I can keep going by voice. The change sounds relatively small until you use it because plugin support means some of those conversations can now lead somewhere beyond ChatGPT itself. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

To use plugins with Voice you need to select the Live voice model. To make sure you're using Live go to Voice in Settings and make sure it is selected.

There is a little setup required first. Plugins have to be available on your ChatGPT account, and some need to be connected or require you to sign into
the service behind them. I would do that before starting Voice mode, because interrupting a supposedly hands-free conversation to deal with logins rather ruins the effect. Go to Settings then Plugins to do this. You may like 5 tips that make ChatGPT Voice more useful My 5 favorite ChatGPT plugins right now ChatGPTs new GPT-Live voice model can speak and listen at the same time
Asking for dinner and music Once I had everything ready, select Voice mode by tapping the Voice button at the right of the prompt window.

I started with asking ChatGPT Voice to use the Instacart plugin, as it's relatively easy to converse about the food I want. I told ChatGPT that I needed something easy for dinner and described some ingredients I already
had. ChatGPT Voice worked well here as I could keep talking and interrupt myself as I looked through the fridge. ChatGPT suggested a recipe and the ingredients I would need and used Instacart to put together an order for me. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our
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Normally, this process involves bouncing between a recipe, the refrigerator, and a grocery app. With Voice and Instacart , more of that happened in one conversation. I still had to look at the screen when an action needed my approval, but I wasn't manually carrying the results from ChatGPT into
another app.

Voice doesn't let you verbally wave through every consequential action a plugin might take. When something requires confirmation, ChatGPT puts it on the screen for you to approve. Besides that last element, it was all easy to do over voice.

And it does have its limits with which plugins it can use and how. Spotify isn't available, for instance, but Apple Music is. That said, while Apple Music's plugin can find music and make playlists, it can't leverage your own library or recent listening. It was nice to make a playlist through conversation, but that aspect somewhat limited its appeal to me. What to read next How to check if you've got ChatGPT's new voice mode and what to try
first ChatGPT's new Side Chat features enhance browsing in Chrome I thought ChatGPTs new umms and hmms were incredibly annoying

StubHub worked better in both narrowing down a search from generally looking for something to do to a specific event and time. I told ChatGPT I wanted something to do and gave it a rough idea of the kind of evening I had in
mind. From there, I could narrow things down based on what sounded appealing.

That may be one of the more useful ways to approach plugins in Voice. You don't necessarily need to arrive knowing precisely what you want. It actually fits the experience better to figure it out through conversation as that's
one of the few things Voice does better than looking at filters on a website. Conversational extensions by AI Plugins don't suddenly make the screen obsolete, and I wouldn't want them to. I want to see what I'm doing before hitting the execute button, especially if it's a purchase. Still, using ChatGPT Voice does change everything leading up to that point.

There are limitations. You only get the plugins available to your account,
and availability can depend on your plan. I would also still be selective about what plugins I connect, whether by voice or otherwise. But for what it does, being able to converse by voice is genuinely appealing.

ChatGPT Voice has always been good at talking. Giving it plugins means the conversation doesn't have to end just when it becomes useful. ChatGPT Voice may actually be the easiest way to do some things beyond just engaging with ChatGPT without typing. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best business laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/i-tried-chatgpt-voices-new-p lugin-support-and-this-is-what-voice-assistants-have-been-missing


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