Anthropic has rolled out a significant update to Claude's voice mode, giving users the ability to choose between its Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku models. The move comes weeks after OpenAI introduced a new family of conversational models and refreshed ChatGPT's own voice capabilities, intensifying the competition between the two AI labs.
When Claude's voice mode first launched last year, it relied exclusively on the Haiku model. While that delivered quick responses, it fell short when users needed help with more sophisticated tasks. With the new update, the voice mode now defaults to the fastest version of whichever model a person last used in text chat, giving conversations a more capable foundation.
Smarter Conversations and Real Productivity
Anthropic says the upgraded voice mode is designed to sustain longer, more meaningful conversations. Users can receive feedback on their communication style, talk through a client pitch, or brainstorm product market research ideas — tasks that go well beyond simple Q&A interactions.
What truly distinguishes this update is Claude's ability to tap into external applications. The voice mode can connect to Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Canva, and Notion. That means a user could verbally ask Claude to reschedule a meeting, draft an email, or create a new document in Notion without switching tools or typing a command.
This is a notable contrast with OpenAI's voice mode. While OpenAI recently refined the conversational style of its assistant, the platform still cannot leverage external tools to complete tasks in the same way Anthropic now offers.
Multilingual Support and Platform Availability
Earlier this year, Anthropic introduced multilingual support to Claude's voice mode in beta. The company has now expanded this capability, allowing users to converse in a range of languages. However, users must manually specify which language they want to use rather than relying on automatic detection.