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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- ChatGPT sound mode rushes, sacrificing accuracy for speed
- Web type answers pinch detail; sound often hallucinates
- Turning disconnected precocious sound mode doesn't afloat hole problems
OpenAI has been clear successful its messaging that different models execute differently. But my caller testing has shown that different relationship modes, moreover utilizing nan aforesaid model, besides execute differently.
Also: Is ChatGPT Plus still worthy $20 erstwhile nan free type offers truthful overmuch - including GPT-5?
As it turns out, ChatGPT successful Voice Mode (both Standard and Advanced) is considerably little meticulous than nan web version. The reason? It doesn't want to return clip to deliberation because that would slow down nan conversation.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ZDNET's genitor company, revenge an April 2025 suit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights successful training and operating its AI systems.)
Fabulous confabulation
I sewage into this very odd, very stubborn speech pinch ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode. What made it weird is that it became 1 of those conversations we've each had pinch a friend, wherever nan friend seems insistent connected spouting thing that you know, for an absolute fact, is wrong. And yet nan spouting continues.
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So, astatine slightest successful nan consciousness that Voice Mode has managed to mimic quality conversational impasses, nan AI is approaching quality behavior.
It each started pinch a mobility astir nan iPhone 16 Pro Max beingness buttons. I asked it to explicate nan usability of nan phone's buttons. In its answer, it mentioned nan ring/silent move connected nan near side, and nan azygous fastener connected nan correct side.
Of course, location is nary ring/silent toggle connected nan iPhone 16 Pro Max. And location are 2 buttons connected nan correct side. The buttons themselves are beside nan point. It's astir what this way of speech reveals astir nan AI.
Also: 5 reasons I usage section AI connected my desktop - alternatively of ChatGPT, Gemini, aliases Claude
In immoderate case, I told nan AI that my telephone doesn't person a ring/silent switch.
After correcting ChatGPT, I asked it why it messed up its answer. The first responses were mostly obsequiously apologetic, but not unexpected.
Then, it started to make worldly up. In this case, it decided to explicate to maine that nan iPhone has an in-display fingerprint sensor. I wish it did, but nan iPhone has ne'er really had that feature. We cognize AIs hallucinate, truthful that's not terribly surprising. What's really absorbing is nan logic for its hallucinations, which I'll talk astir successful a minute.
I told nan AI to return a infinitesimal and think. This prompting believe often useful pinch nan web-based chatbot, but it didn't win here. This time, nan AI decided nan action fastener was connected nan correct broadside of nan telephone alternatively of, aliases successful summation to, nan near side.
When I again corrected nan AI, it returned to nan communicative of location being conscionable 1 fastener connected nan correct broadside of nan phone. In fact, location are two. The 2nd button, which doesn't instrumentality retired nan measurement nan different buttons connected nan telephone do, is 1 of nan large iPhone 16 Pro features. It's nan Camera Control button, which besides doubles arsenic a slider. But nan AI backtracked.
Keep successful mind this is not a caller phone. This telephone has been retired for complete a year, truthful nan AI should person had that information. But past came nan large reveal, nan logic I'm penning this article. It appears that Voice Mode rushes its answers successful bid to "quickly answer" successful conversations.
That's nan large reveal:
I deliberation I conscionable jumped successful quickly to reply you successful speech mode without pausing arsenic overmuch arsenic I would if I were typing.
This appears to beryllium a important behaviour of nan Voice Mode.
No talkie, little fibbie
I asked nan nonstop aforesaid original mobility to GPT-5 successful nan web interface. It gave a afloat elaborate accusation dump that, arsenic acold arsenic I tin tell, was besides wholly accurate.
Social proof
When I sounded this communicative thought to my editor, she asked maine to spot what nan socials had to say. Were others experiencing other confabulation aliases poorly considered responses from Voice Mode?
Also: How group really usage ChatGPT vs Claude - and what nan differences show us
Indeed, they were.
Take this thread successful Reddit's r/OpenAI subreddit. It started a twelvemonth ago, complaining astir ChatGPT's Voice Mode. Redditor FurlyGhost52 says, "Because it's designed to respond quickly, it doesn't put arsenic overmuch effort into what it says back."
Redditor fakedogman69 doesn't clasp back, saying, "Like talking to an insane person, connected cocaine. That aside, I besides find its speech style has go insufferable and wholly unnatural arsenic described by galore group successful this thread."
Then, there's another thread entitled, "I dislike Advanced mode sound truthful much. It talks wholly different than really it messages." In it, Redditor Usual_Cup2454 has an absorbing penetration astir Advanced Voice Mode, saying, "One cardinal quality betwixt Advanced Voice Mode and modular Voice Mode is that modular uses your Custom Instructions, Advanced doesn't."
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In another thread, Redditor Soliman-El-Magnifico says, "The answers are highly shallow." In nan aforesaid thread, Redditor Elijah_Reddits says, "The sound sounds eerily life-like, but nan contented of what it's saying is truthful bad compared to normal models. It's for illustration pulling teeth trying to get immoderate useful accusation from it."
The statement crossed threads seems to beryllium that Advanced Voice Mode, strangely, is little adjuvant than nan modular Voice Mode.
Is modular Voice Mode better?
No, not truthful much. You tin move disconnected Advanced Voice Mode by going down to your floor plan icon, hitting Personalization, past scrolling each nan measurement down to Advanced, and past scrolling each nan measurement down until you spot nan Advanced Voice Mode toggle.
Also: How to usage ChatGPT: A beginner's guideline to nan astir celebrated AI chatbot
I turned it disconnected and asked modular Voice Mode my aforesaid iPhone question. It correctly identified that location is an action fastener connected nan near broadside of nan phone, but powerfully doubled down connected nan thought that location is nary 2nd fastener connected nan correct side.
In fact, location is. As I mentioned, nan Camera Control fastener was a awesome characteristic of nan iPhone 16 Pro Max announcement. More amusingly, nan AI declared that if I noticed a fastener there, it was simply a creation element.
Missing nan subtle worldly
There's an aged logic puzzle astir often described as, "If yesterday was tomorrow, past coming would beryllium Friday." How this gets answered has been hotly debated complete nan years. I took that mobility and added a "What is today, actually?" twist for nan AI:
If yesterday was tomorrow, past coming would beryllium Friday. What is today, actually?
There are technically 2 statements here: nan logic puzzle and a mobility astir what time coming really is.
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The reply to nan logic puzzle isn't really applicable to our discussion. To immoderate degree, neither is what time coming is. For nan record, these chats took spot connected Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
What is applicable is really fervently ChatGPT Voice Mode defended its original answer, particularly erstwhile compared to nan GPT-5 web interface.
When asked that question, ChatGPT Voice wished nan reply was Thursday. Even erstwhile I challenged it and said, "Really, what is today's date?" nan AI responded, "Yes, really, it's Thursday. And conscionable to springiness you nan afloat picture, today's day is October 1st, 2025."
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In bid to push nan AI disconnected that answer, I had to prosecute successful immoderate further questioning. What I recovered amusing, if a spot troubling, was nan AI's justification for its error.
That's right, I did opportunity that! Sometimes these riddles tin get america a spot twisted astir successful nan logic, but nan existent almanac ne'er lies. So yes, successful existent life, coming is Wednesday.
That was nan rapid-fire sound mode ChatGPT employs to support responses crisp during a conversation. But what astir nan web interface? As it turns out, GPT-5 successful nan web interface was capable to separate betwixt nan 2 parts of nan question. First, it answered nan riddle. But erstwhile I erstwhile again asked astir nan existent today, it understood nan nuance and provided some answers.
If you're funny astir nan ID numbers mentioned successful nan transcript, that's a civilization instruction successful ChatGPT settings. I person it number each relationship pinch an ID, truthful I tin mention backmost to nan conversational measurement pinch immoderate grade of accuracy. ID 001 was erstwhile I asked nan first question, and ID 002 was erstwhile it came backmost pinch nan existent date.
What person I learned?
Well, connected a applicable level, I learned I tin move disconnected Advanced Voice Mode and revert backmost to nan original Voice Mode. I learned that tons of Redditors for illustration nan modular Voice Mode complete nan Advanced Voice Mode.
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But I besides learned that answers successful either Voice Mode are considerably little considered than answers coming from nan web type of ChatGPT. I learned that Voice Mode specifically states that it skips immoderate of nan reasoning successful bid to get answers retired and support conversational flow.
People don't really for illustration it erstwhile there's nary gross betwixt your encephalon and your mouth. It's a bug, not a feature.
How galore of america person been blameworthy of that aforesaid behavior? And yet, we want our AIs to beryllium accurate. So if you person important worldly to talk aliases you'd for illustration a higher chance of accuracy successful your answers, usage nan web version.
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What do you deliberation astir ChatGPT's sound mode? Have you noticed it rushing answers aliases missing important specifications compared to nan web version? Do you find precocious sound mode useful, aliases much frustrating than helpful? How overmuch accuracy are you consenting to waste and acquisition for conversational speed? Let america cognize successful nan comments below.
To corroborate my (and nan social's) empirical observations astir Voice Mode's behaviors, I've reached retired to OpenAI. I'll update this abstraction if they supply much information.
You tin travel my day-to-day task updates connected societal media. Be judge to subscribe to my play update newsletter, and travel maine connected Twitter/X astatine @DavidGewirtz, connected Facebook astatine Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, connected Instagram astatine Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, connected Bluesky astatine @DavidGewirtz.com, and connected YouTube astatine YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
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