OpenAI makes ChatGPT available for phone calls and texts

OpenAI on Wednesday rolled out a new way to talk to its viral chatbot: 1-800-CHATGPT.
U.S. users can dial the number for 15 minutes of free access per month.
Any user globally can message the number via WhatsApp.

OpenAI is giving users a new way to talk to its viral chatbot: 1-800-CHATGPT.

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By dialing the U.S. number (1-800-242-8478) or messaging it via WhatsApp, users can access an "easy, convenient, and low-cost way to try it out through familiar channels," OpenAI said Wednesday. At first, the company said callers will get 15 minutes free per month.

The news follows a barrage of updates from OpenAI as part of a 12-day release event. The most notable announcement was the official rollout of Sora, OpenAI's buzzy AI video-generation tool.

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OpenAI recently hired its first chief marketing officer, indicating plans to spend more on advertising to grow its user base. In October, the company debuted a search feature within ChatGPT that positions it to better compete with Google, Microsoft's Bing and Perplexity.

It's all part of an aggressive growth plan for OpenAI, as the company battles Amazon-backed Anthropic, Elon Musk's xAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon in the rapidly expanding generative artificial intelligence market, which is predicted to top $1 trillion in revenue within a decade.

OpenAI closed its latest funding round in October at a valuation of $157 billion. The company also received a $4 billion revolving line of credit, bringing its total liquidity to more than $10 billion.

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For the 1-800 number, users can call without an account, but the company said in a livestream that it's "working on ways" to be able to integrate WhatsApp messages with a person's ChatGPT credentials.

The team built the tool "just a few weeks ago," an employee said on the livestream.

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