At Apple’s recent ‘Wonderlust’ event, the iPhone 15 series made its debut, introducing several significant changes to the company’s traditional design. One of the most notable changes was the replacement of the Lightning port with the standardized USB Type-C. Additionally, the iPhone 15 Pro models departed from the series’ regular mute switch, instead featuring a customizable Action Button that opens up new possibilities for iPhone 15 Pro users. Since the Action Button can be assigned to various apps and functionalities, including the Shortcuts app on iPhone, virtually every app can now be linked to it. As some users have discovered, you can even use ChatGPT as your voice assistant in place of Siri on the iPhone 15 Pro.
ChatGPT, OpenAI’s highly popular generative AI chatbot, recently gained support for voice conversations, allowing it to engage in natural back-and-forth dialogues with users. This feature, currently available only to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise subscribers, essentially transforms the chatbot into an AI-powered voice assistant. With the assistance of Apple’s new Action Button, ChatGPT can easily replace Siri as the preferred voice assistant on the iPhone 15 Pro. As initially observed by ZDNet, you can bind the ChatGPT app on iOS to the Action Button using the Shortcuts app.
To set this up, simply download OpenAI’s ChatGPT app from the App Store (it’s free). Then, go to Settings > Action Button on your iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, and select the Shortcuts option. Next, tap on ‘Choose a feature’ and select the ChatGPT app. This will link the ChatGPT app on your iPhone to the Action Button, enabling you to access the app with a single tap from your home screen.
Although ChatGPT now supports voice interaction, this feature is currently exclusive to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise subscribers. A ChatGPT Plus subscription starts at $20 per month. For iPhone users, the popular Google Assistant can already be used as an alternative to Siri through its dedicated iOS app, which can also be linked to a Shortcut for easy access.
Furthermore, ChatGPT Plus users can now browse the web beyond ChatGPT’s original September 2021 cutoff date. OpenAI announced that ChatGPT users can begin browsing the internet, expanding the chatbot’s access to more recent information. With the Action Button, iPhone 15 Pro users can now access up-to-date information from the web via ChatGPT. This feature is also limited to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise customers for now, but OpenAI intends to make it available to all users in the near future.