Dear OpenAI Team,
I’d like to propose adding a push-to-talk (PTT) feature to the ChatGPT Android app. This feature would allow users to control when the app listens by pressing and holding a button, with ChatGPT beginning its response only after the button is released.
Problem with Current Implementation
The current voice conversation mode often behaves unpredictably:
- The app frequently fails to listen when expected, or does so only after a waiting time.
- It sometimes picks up unintended input from background noise, interrupting its output.
- In voice conversation mode, the UI prominently shows those (pretty abstract btw.) large black/blue discs or animated bubbles. However, these elements are purely passive visual icons, which lead to user confusion. It is likely that many users instinctively tap on these spheres, expecting them to trigger some functionality—such as activating listening mode—but are met with no response.
These issues can make the experience frustrating, especially in noisy environments or during precise interactions.
Benefits of PTT Mode
- Precise Control: Ensures listening and responding happen only when explicitly intended.
- Better Performance in Noisy Environments: Minimizes interruptions caused by background noise.
- Improved Clarity: Removes ambiguity about the app’s status (e.g., “Is it listening?”), without having to constantly look at the display.
- Resource Efficiency: Reduces active listening time, reducing advanced voice conversation quota usage (and battery usage as well).
- Enhanced Privacy: The app listens only when the user presses the button, respecting user needs.
- User-Friendly Options: The feature could be activated through a toggle in the settings, to switch between a PTT mode and the current continuous listening mode.
Thank you for considering this improvement, which I believe will enhance the app’s usability and reliability for all users.
Best regards,
Kristian Hasenjäger