Use Your AirPods to Have a Conversation With ChatGPT

Credit: Marques Brownlee/YouTube

Last month, select Apple users got their first taste of Apple Intelligence, with features including transcribing voice memos, cleaning up photos, rewriting emails, and a revamped, more natural Siri. However, when iOS 18.2 launches, how you interact with your digital assistant and, consequently, your AirPods, could change drastically, thanks to a new ChatGPT integration with Siri. And if you install the iOS 18.2 beta on your iPhone, you'll have this integration right away.

Chatting with ChatGPT through Siri

According to 9to5Mac, the experience is rather straightforward: When you summon Siri after installing iOS 18.2, you can follow up by saying "Ask ChatGPT." Instead of asking Siri your question, you're now asking ChatGPT. The AI chatbot will then handle the task from there.

After the initial question, Siri will listen for any follow-ups, and can continue the conversation without repeating commands or engaging in additional dialogue, similar to a normal conversation with a friend. These subsequent requests all go through ChatGPT as well, so there's no need to say "Ask ChatGPT" every time—only at the beginning of the current Siri session.

When iOS 18.2 is officially released (the rumor is early December), ChatGPT will be disabled by default. You will have to enable it by toggling it on in the Apple Intelligence menu in Settings. You don't need to have a ChatGPT account to access these features, but if you have a ChatGPT Plus account, you can connect it to Apple Intelligence in Settings to access the chatbot's more advanced features. That includes expanded GPT-4o features, the ability to upload additional files and send more messages, as well as access to Advanced Voice Mode.

To connect your ChatGPT Plus account, head to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > ChatGPT. There, you can enter your account information or upgrade to ChatGPT Plus, currently priced at $19.99 a month.

How ChatGPT integration is a game changer for AirPods

ChatGPT integration works no matter how you chat with Siri, but it could be particularly useful when going hands-free with AirPods. Once updated, you will be able to ask questions and get more detailed answers through Siri wherever you use your earbuds. That includes all the usual use cases for AI: For example, you can ask ChatGPT a question while out on a jog, or request a summary of important documents while walking to an important meeting. It all comes with AI's limitations, of course, so you should always review anything you ask ChatGPT before treating it as fact. But if you're already a ChatGPT fan, having direct access to the bot from your AirPods is pretty sweet.

To that point, if you pay for ChatGPT Plus, you can talk to ChatGPT in natural conversation through Advance Voice Mode. In this mode, ChatGPT can recognize the emotion and tone of your voice, and will stop speaking when you start saying something, mimicking a more natural, realistic conversation. It's probably the closest we've come to 2013's Her yet.

If you're eager to try Siri's new features now, you can download the beta version of iOS 18.2. Learn more about downloading it here, keeping in mind that there are inherent risks when using unfinished software.