Claude is one of the main ChatGPT rivals, but Anthropic’s AI model isn’t quite on par with OpenAI’s chatbot. However, Anthropic has been catching up and launching new features as quickly as it can. Among them, Claude’s ability to search the web for information and the brand-new Research feature are certainly highlights.
But as advanced as Claude might be, the AI can’t handle voice inputs and cannot talk back to you. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has a great Voice Mode feature that’s been available to users for several months. Similarly, Gemini Live supports voice mode, and so do other AI models.
Then again, there is at least one spectacular failure in the world of AI, and that’s the Siri experience that Apple promised for Apple Intelligence. The company embarrassingly admitted that the advanced voice assistant can’t work like the staged demos it showed at WWDC 2024. That version of Siri can also take prompts by voice, but it’s just vaporware for now.
What I’m getting at is that Anthropic might be late to deploy a voice mode for Claude, but we’re still in the early days of AI. And Anthropic isn’t as far behind OpenAI as Apple.
A new report says that Claude might get a voice mode as soon as this month, seemingly confirming previous rumors that said the feature was in the cards for the chatbot this year.
A source informed Bloomberg that voice mode is coming to Claude, complete with three voice choices. Bloomberg also reviewed the code of the Claude app for iPhone, finding evidence that voice mode is coming.
The report even mentioned the three voice names Anthropic chose for Claude’s voice mode: Airy, Mellow, and Buttery. It’s not unusual for AI models to offer various voice options for voice mode features. Users can choose between male and female options, and each gets different personalities, accents, and tonalities.
Voice options aside, a voice mode is certainly a handy way to talk to the AI, especially when using a mobile device or a wearable. Meta has the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that support AI voice, and Google has already demoed such AR/AI prototypes featuring Gemini. It’s likely that more products like this will become available in the future.
Interacting via voice with the AI can also be much faster than typing on a computer. It’s not necessarily a must-have feature right now, but it will be once AI modes get even more powerful agentic features.
You might want to use voice instead of telling the AI via text to perform a Deep Research job or browse the web for the cheapest plane tickets to your next vacation. Add more complex agentic behavior, and voice mode becomes a must.
Anthropic has yet to confirm the voice mode release for Claude, and plans might always change. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if voice mode launched in beta mode, just like the Research and Google Workspace integration that Anthropic announced this week. And let’s not forget that Claude’s newest features aren’t always available worldwide. Voice mode might only be available in the US initially, followed by other markets.
That’s all speculation based on what Anthropic has done with its recent Claude updates. All that aside, voice mode is coming to Claude, no matter how long it takes.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei teased the voice mode feature for Claude in early 2025 without committing to a release schedule. Last month, Anthropic’s chief product officer Mike Krieger told The Financial Times that voice mode has been in the works.
“We are doing some work around how Claude for desktop evolves [… ] if it is going to be operating your computer, a more natural user interface might be to [speak to it],” Krieger said. “We will do voice internally […] it is a useful modality to have. We have prototypes.”
That same report said that Anthropic was working with Amazon and AI startup ElevenLabs on voice mode for Claude. No deals were finalized when that story came out.
