ChatGPT Advanced Voice Is Retiring on 11 December: What Changes and What to Do
OpenAI will retire ChatGPT Advanced Voice and Standard Voice on 11 December 2026 and move everyone to Live voice (GPT-Live). Here is what changes, what stays, and what to test before then.
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OpenAI is retiring ChatGPT Advanced Voice and Standard Voice on 11 December 2026. After that date, every voice chat in ChatGPT runs on Live voice, powered by the GPT-Live model, and anyone who had picked Advanced or Standard in Settings will be switched over automatically. Your old voice conversations stay in your chat history.
OpenAI began notifying users on 10 November 2026, so there is roughly a month to get used to the change. Here is what is going away, what replaces it, and what it means if you use ChatGPT Voice in India on the Free, Go, Plus or Pro plan.
Quick summary
- What is retiring: Advanced voice and Standard voice in ChatGPT Voice.
- When: 11 December 2026. Both stay selectable until then.
- Replacement: Live voice, built on GPT-Live, which OpenAI launched on 8 July 2026.
- Exceptions: live video and screen sharing keep using Advanced voice until GPT-Live supports them; voice in custom GPTs uses Advanced voice until custom GPTs themselves retire on 11 December 2026.
- Your chats: old voice conversations stay in history and can be continued in text or voice.
Why is ChatGPT Advanced Voice being retired?
OpenAI says almost everyone who uses voice in ChatGPT has already moved to GPT-Live. According to its help centre, voice usage has nearly doubled since GPT-Live arrived in July, and “virtually all” voice users are now on it. Retiring the older modes lets the company simplify the voice experience and put its effort into one model.
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OpenAI also says it is carrying lessons from the older modes into GPT-Live, naming three areas it is still improving: the depth and detail of answers, continuity across conversations, and personalisation. It openly acknowledges that some people are used to how Advanced or Standard voice responded and that such model transitions can be hard, which is why it is giving a month’s notice rather than switching overnight.
What happens on 11 December 2026
Until 11 December, nothing changes: you can keep choosing Advanced or Standard voice. On that day, both options disappear from the voice model picker under Settings > Voice, and anyone who had selected them is moved to Live voice by default.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 8 July 2026 | GPT-Live launches and starts powering ChatGPT Voice |
| 10 November 2026 | Users are told Advanced and Standard voice will retire |
| 10 Nov – 10 Dec 2026 | Advanced and Standard voice can still be selected |
| 11 December 2026 | Both removed from Settings > Voice; users moved to Live voice |
| After 11 December | Live video and screen sharing stay on Advanced voice until GPT-Live supports them |
Live vs Advanced vs Standard voice: what is the difference?
The three modes differ mainly in how they handle a conversation. Standard voice was the original pipeline, Advanced voice was a single audio model that took turns, and Live voice can listen and speak at the same time.
| Mode | How it works | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|
| Standard voice | Three models in a chain: speech-to-text, a language model, then text-to-speech | Slow replies; some information lost between voice and text |
| Advanced voice | One turn-based model that processes and generates audio directly | Waits for you to stop speaking, so the back-and-forth feels rigid |
| Live voice (GPT-Live) | Full-duplex model that listens and speaks at once and hands harder tasks to OpenAI’s frontier text models | Does not yet support live video or screen sharing |
In practice, Live voice can say “mhmm” or “yeah” while you talk, let you interrupt, or stay quiet while you think. For questions that need web search or deeper reasoning, it passes the job to a frontier model in the background and keeps talking while it waits for the result. OpenAI says it also shows visual cards for topics such as weather, stocks and sports, and still supports search, memory, images and file uploads.
Which GPT-Live model will Indian users get?
It depends on your plan. When GPT-Live launched, OpenAI said GPT-Live-1 would be the default for Go, Plus and Pro users, and GPT-Live-1 mini the default for Free users. It is available on iOS, Android and ChatGPT.com.
- Free: GPT-Live-1 mini by default.
- Go, Plus and Pro: GPT-Live-1 by default.
- Reasoning level: OpenAI lets you pick Instant for quick replies, or Medium and High when you want ChatGPT to think longer.
One point matters for Indian users who speak Hindi or other regional languages. OpenAI says GPT-Live is optimised for some of the most popular languages in ChatGPT, but “for certain languages” it may have a non-native accent or gaps in fluency. If you rely on voice in a regional language, test Live voice now, while Advanced voice is still available to compare. For a plan-by-plan breakdown, see our guide to ChatGPT plans in India.
What stays on Advanced voice for now?
Two features are not moving yet. Live video and screen sharing during a voice chat will keep running on Advanced voice until GPT-Live can handle them; OpenAI has not given a date for that. Voice inside custom GPTs also keeps using Advanced voice, but only until 11 December 2026, the same day custom GPTs are retired and replaced by plugins.
If you built or depend on a custom GPT, that second deadline is the bigger job. OpenAI’s help centre explains how creators can migrate a GPT to a plugin, and you can also move simpler workflows into a ChatGPT project.
What should you do before 11 December?
Most people do not need to do anything, because the switch is automatic. If you still use Advanced or Standard voice, these steps will make the change smoother:
- Open ChatGPT and go to Settings > Voice to see which mode you are using.
- Try Live voice for a few everyday tasks, such as a quick question, a language practice session or a long explanation, and note anything that works worse for you.
- If you speak a regional language, test it specifically in Live voice.
- If you rely on voice with video or screen sharing, nothing changes yet: those stay on Advanced voice.
- If you want a copy of your chats, request a data export from ChatGPT’s settings; OpenAI’s help centre explains how.
Parents should note that ChatGPT’s Parental Controls let linked parents decide whether a teen can use ChatGPT Voice, and OpenAI says GPT-Live includes additional protections for teen users.
Frequently asked questions
When will ChatGPT Advanced Voice stop working?
Advanced and Standard voice will be removed from ChatGPT on 11 December 2026. Until then, you can still select them under Settings > Voice.
Will I lose my old voice conversations?
No. OpenAI says your Advanced and Standard voice conversations stay in your ChatGPT history and can be continued in text or in voice, which will use GPT-Live after 11 December.
Is Live voice available on the free plan?
Yes. At launch, OpenAI said GPT-Live-1 mini would be the default voice model for Free users, while Go, Plus and Pro users get GPT-Live-1.
Can I still share my screen or camera in ChatGPT Voice?
Yes. Live video and screen sharing will continue to run on Advanced voice until GPT-Live supports them. OpenAI has not announced a date for that change.
Bottom line
The retirement of ChatGPT Advanced Voice is mostly a clean-up: OpenAI says nearly all voice users have already moved to GPT-Live, and the switch on 11 December is automatic. Use the next month to test Live voice in the language and tasks you rely on, and if you own a custom GPT, plan its migration too, because that deadline falls on the same day. For more ChatGPT changes, read our guides on claiming your business in ChatGPT and the ChatGPT GIF maker.
Sources
- OpenAI Help Center: Retiring Advanced and Standard Voice in ChatGPT
- OpenAI: Introducing GPT-Live
- OpenAI Help Center: Custom GPT retirement and migration FAQ
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