👌 Practical ChatGPT tips for Search & Advanced Voice

AI-HOI AInauts,

Happy Monday! We hope you had a nice weekend. Today we have some practical tips on the new features of ChatGPT - and a few thoughts on what's coming next.

Here's what you can expect:

• 🗣️ Tips & tricks for ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode (plus alternative)

• 👀 Search without limits: ChatGPT has permanent web access

• 💎 Awww! Crystal creatures and a lime bird

Here we go!

🗣️ Tips & tricks for ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode (plus alternative)

Let's get started with the ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode.

This has recently become available on the ChatGPT desktop app, and users of the free version can also enjoy it. Be sure to try it out and integrate it into your own workflows.

Until now, when we wanted to create audio from text, we relied on ElevenLabs. ChatGPT also offers the option of having a reply read out directly via the speaker icon below the output.

But how do you get an audio file of the text being read out? Simple: with the right browser extension, see screenshot below! Pretty nice, we think.

Here is an example of the generated file (as you can see, this also works with other languages than English):

Bonus tip: If you have an existing text that you want to have read aloud, simply add the prompt "Repeat the following text at verbatim:" before the text.

Since ChatGPT is not yet allowed to sing, we looked for an alternative and found it: the Microsoft Copilot app on mobile offers you this option!

👀 Search without limits: ChatGPT has permanent web access

OpenAI upgraded ChatGPT a few days ago with a new search feature and makes no secret of the fact that yesterday's paradigms will no longer be valid tomorrow. Google as the only gatekeeper for information? There's another way - and we already find it super useful.

How to use the new ChatGPT search

There is now an integrated, ad-free search function in the ChatGPT app and on the website (for Pro users - free users will follow in the coming months).

This provides the latest news, sports results, stock market prices, maps, etc. And with the new browser extension, every search query is hijacked and redirected directly to ChatGPT - Google is left out in the cold, and so is Bing (but at least they provide the index for the results).

If you prefer to use your existing search engine in combination with the ChatGPT search, you can set up a simple shortcut.

This is how it works:

• Add a new search engine in the browser settings

• Enter the shortcut "@cgpt" and the URL https://chatgpt.com/?q=%s - that's it!

For the record: We have pulled the search engine plug and have been working primarily with ChatGPT Search since the release - and are eager to see how this affects our productivity.

What makes ChatGPT Search so helpful?

The great thing about ChatGPT Search is that you can directly "do something" with the result of your searches - unlike with Google.

For example: What are the best protein powders on Amazon? Create a table.

Then you can easily create an html page from it: Create a downloadable html file with all the details and hotlink the corresponding images.

Not perfect, the hotlinking of the pictures didn't work and some links go nowhere - but it is a solid start.

You can then take the idea a step further by simply calling up a suitable GPT (make sure to first search for a suitable GPT and pin it!) - for example, to create an affiliate landing page or write social media posts or…

Bye-bye Google? Not so fast ...

We already wrote about the new players in the search engine sector last week. And the speculation continues:

• Will OpenAI perhaps launch its own browser at some point?

• Are the rumors that Perplexity is building a shopping search engine true?

• When is the Meta-Search Engine coming?

• And how well will Google's Jarvis project counter?

With ChatGPT in the search arena, there's definitely a new dynamic. Those who embrace the mantra AI-first! probably want a clear, precise answer rather than long lists of links. This argument speaks in favor of the new AI helpers (even if there are things that don't work yet - such as getting results from Reddit).

We also see this in our own usage, and have the data to prove it: in September, according to RescueTime, it was 1h 3m on google.com, 2h 25m on bing.com, 2h 41m on perplexity.ai, 7h 27m claude.ai and 15h 21m on chatgpt.com.

But we are in a bubble, as a reality check with Google Trends and Similarweb shows: ChatGPT still has a lot of catch-up potential, not to mention Claude and Perplexity.

So let's not kid ourselves: this new feature won't immediately steal the market from Google. But it's an omen that Google's dominance in the $200 billion market is not guaranteed.

Our take: This round goes to ChatGPT

One thing is for sure: OpenAI is constantly shipping new features and makes you want more. Here is the timeline ... note that there is still some space on the right-hand side 😁.

ChatGPT as an ad-free search engine is a bold move. No clickbait, no ads - who wants banner ads and SEO-pimped links anyway when you can have direct answers?

For users, this initially means a fresher, more targeted search experience. However, anyone who remembers the early days of Facebook also knows how quickly an ad-free platform can become an advertising magnet.

Is this also a threat to ChatGPT? Sam Altman counters this in his recent talk at Harvard University and says clearly: "I hate ads... they are a last resort!”

For news and media companies, this development is also a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they can gain visibility by cooperating with ChatGPT - and on the other hand, they are threatened by fewer clicks to their site, less traffic, less ad revenue.

And this is just the beginning: @SamA announced in the AMA ("Ask me anything") on Reddit last week that AGI is possible with existing hardware. There were other exciting nuggets too, here's the audio summary (thanks, NotebookLM!).

The full o1 model has also just made its first appearance over the weekend - multimodal with vision, file upload, super-fast and a massive 200k context window! As quickly as it was available, it was also gone. But it's only a matter of time, and after o1 we can expect the agents, and then we'll probably soon be looking AGI in the face…

💎 Awww! Crystal creatures and a lime bird

Finally, something entertaining from the world of AI videos. These creatures are just cute!

... and if you want to play around yourself, try the brand-new AI video generator pollo.ai.

We'll be back on the weekend with all the news about Apple Intelligence and the other updates that happened this week.

Reto & Fabian from the AInauts

P.S.: Follow us on social media - that motivates us to keep going 😁!
Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Insta, YouTube, TikTok

Your feedback is essential for us. We read EVERY comment and feedback, just respond to this email. Tell us what was (not) good and what is interesting for YOU.