Some of OpenAI’s announcements for its “12 Days” event of ChatGPT novelties were easy to guess. The full release of ChatGPT o1, ChatGPT Search going public, and the official Sora rollout are some of the things you could have seen coming. But the 1-800-ChatGPT toll-free number that OpenAI announced on Wednesday is something that definitely wasn’t on my list.
I did not see ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode getting regular phone call support, which is what the 1-800 number will do for you. It’s an incredibly gimmicky feature that will do more for OpenAI’s ChatGPT marketing department than for users.
The 1-800 number will give you 15 minutes of free chat with the AI per month in the US and Canada. It works from any kind of phone, including old flip phones and rotary home phones. OpenAI demoed both during the short livestream. But the more exciting feature is having ChatGPT support in WhatsApp.
You can use the same number to talk to ChatGPT in the popular chat app. There are no limits, and the phone works worldwide. That’s less gimmicky than calling a phone number to talk to ChatGPT, and I think it’s a big attack on Meta’s Meta AI.
Meta AI is a ChatGPT-like product from Meta. The company formerly known as Facebook bundled Meta AI with all its social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. If you use any of these apps, you have access to Meta AI right now, or it’s coming soon. Meta couldn’t give Meta AI a worldwide release, as some markets require special attention. That’s the EU, of course.
Once Meta AI becomes available, you can’t disable it. You can avoid using it in any of those apps, but Meta AI is now built into all of Meta’s social networks.
Bringing ChatGPT into WhatsApp via the 1-800-ChatGPT number is easily an attack on Meta AI, one that Meta can’t really respond to. Suddenly, WhatsApp users can talk to the AI they might prefer right inside WhatsApp instead of the one available by default.
Just look at the demo OpenAI offered. The user moves between a chat with a person to a chat with ChatGPT to ask a question. They could ask Meta AI the same question, as the Meta AI search/composer field is seen right at the top of chats in WhatsApp.
To chat with ChatGPT in WhatsApp, save the 1-800 number in your contacts. Then, type your questions and prompts, and the AI will answer.
As a longtime ChatGPT user, I’ll never chat with the chatbot via WhatsApp. I’ll use the standalone ChatGPT apps or the website. However, plenty of smartphone owners are still new to the AI game. They might be aware of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Meta AI, but they might not use any of them. The WhatsApp integration gives OpenAI another way of promoting its AI services to consumers who aren’t using AI chatbots.
The WhatsApp access might be the gateway drug that gets them to install the ChatGPT apps. From there, they might consider premium access for the AI. And it’ll all happen in an app that comes with built-in Meta AI access.
Will it actually work? We’ll have to wait and see whether OpenAI shares any stats on 1-800 calls and WhatsApp engagement. At the very least, it’s a great marketing tactic worth pursuing.
As for the actual WhatsApp chats with ChatGPT, the privacy implications aren’t clear here. You’d use the service without an account. Also, WhatsApp chats should be end-to-end encrypted so the chat content is only visible to the two parties.
But one party is an AI that might have instructions to export some of those chats to OpenAI for safety reasons or to improve the service. After all, the toll-free number warns you that the call might be recorded.
Also, the WhatsApp service can potentially give OpenAI access to plenty of phone numbers that can be targeted with ChatGPT promo texts. It might never happen; I’m speculating here. But OpenAI will want to increase its customer base, so that’s one way to do it.
OpenAI could also match some of those numbers to existing ChatGPT accounts. But again, if you have a ChatGPT account, you wouldn’t really want the WhatsApp experience.