Claude Gets a Voice: Anthropic Rolls Out Hands-Free AI Conversations

Anthropic is rolling out a new voice mode for its Claude AI app, empowering users to hold full spoken conversations with the chatbot. 

The feature is still in beta. Anthropic’s English-speaking Claude mobile users can expect it over the coming weeks.

According to an official post on X (formerly Twitter) and updated support materials, the feature runs by default on the Claude Sonnet 4 model. 

Voice mode not only lets users speak to Claude and hear verbal responses but also displays on-screen highlights of the conversation. Experts agree this feature is welcome news for mobile warriors and multitaskers.

The move puts Anthropic alongside AI heavyweights like OpenAI and Google. These tech giants already deliver exceptional voice functionality through tools like ChatGPT voice chat and Gemini Live. xAI’s Grok also features a voice mode. 

These technologies underscore the increasing shift of conversational AI toward a more natural, hands-free interaction.

Anthropic’s voice mode brings several added features. Users can discuss documents, images, and other files; toggle between voice and text seamlessly; and choose from five distinct voices. 

A transcript and summary are automatically provided for easy reference after each exchange.

Still, there are some caveats. Conversations held in voice mode count against normal usage limits. Free users can only get 20 to 30 sessions. 

Premium subscribers gain access to added perks like Google Calendar and Gmail integration.

On the other hand, Claude Enterprise customers are the only ones with Google Docs access via voice.

Anthropic’s Chief Product Officer Mike Krieger previously confirmed the company was working on voice functionality in a March interview with the Financial Times. 

Krieger reported that Anthropic is collaborating with Amazon and ElevenLabs (an AI audio firm) to develop future voice-driven features for Claude.

It is unclear if those collaborations materialized. Regardless, this new voice mode should bring Anthropic a few steps closer to its mission of making AI interactions feel more natural and lifelike.