The Meta AI voice chat feature was finally introduced on Wednesday, after rumors about it surfaced earlier this week. The social media giant announced several new artificial intelligence (AI) features for its native chatbots at Meta Connect 2024, of which the voice chat feature was a major highlight. This will allow users to have two-way conversations with AI without the need to type or read text. However, it is not an emotional voice and instead the experience is more akin to a text-to-speech tool.
In a newsroom post, the social media giant explained the feature in detail. It was also demonstrated during the program. Meta highlighted that the voice chat feature will be rolled out for Meta AI on Messenger, Facebook, Instagram DM, and WhatsApp.
Simply put, it is a speech mode for AI, which companies like OpenAI and Google are already offering with their chatbots. However, unlike the advanced voice mode on ChatGPT, which has a human-like expressive voice that can react to the user’s words, and carry on a conversation in real-time, Meta AI Voice Chat uses a human-like method of reading generated text aloud. have experience.
Based on the demo shared by the company, the voice isn’t completely robot-like, but there is little or no voice modulation. However, one advantage it has is that it is available for free to all users. Meta also plans to introduce several new voice options for users to choose from. It will also feature five celebrity voices including Awkwafina, Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan Michael Key and Kristen Bell.
A report earlier this week revealed that Meta was planning to introduce celebrity voices for the feature. The company is said to have secured deals with him to use his voice for Meta AI. In such a situation, more celebrities can be added in the future.
To use the voice chat mode, users need to go to the Meta AI interface on any Meta-owned platform that supports it. There, users can find a waveform icon placed next to the text field. Tapping on it will open a window with the Meta AI icon in the middle and icons for speaker, mute, and messages at the bottom. Once here, users can begin speaking their questions and prompts and the AI will respond verbally in the chosen voice.
