We called 1-800-ChatGPT to see if OpenAI would ruin Christmas

OpenAI just launched a way to call ChatGPT over the phone as a means of introducing people to the generative AI service. Users in the U.S. and Canada can call 1-800-CHATGPT (1-800-242-8478) to chat with the service or ask questions for up to 15 minutes for free per month. The release is part of OpenAI’s 12-day release event it’s playfully calling “shipmas.” (The most exciting announcement came on day three, when it rolled out its highly anticipated AI video-generation tool called Sora.)

It’s a clever marketing push for the tech company, which introduced the general public to generative AI with a bang in 2022, and has had to fight off stiff competition from rivals like Anthropic and Google.

As someone who regularly asks ChatGPT for help with things like putting together themed grocery lists and comparing ingredients in multivitamin brands, I figured I’d try putting the audio version to the test.

To start, I wanted to know how the whole thing worked. “You ask questions or tell me what you need help with and I’ll do my best to assist you. What’s on your mind today?” the robotic woman’s voice says on the other side of the line. The system said it wants “to come across as clear, friendly, and helpful” when it speaks.

Since this is a system to introduce people to AI, I wanted ChatGPT to explain how AI works.

“AI voice recognition works by converting spoken language into text,” ChatGPT explains. “It breaks down the audio into tiny fragments, analyzes them for patterns, and matches those patterns to phonemes, the basic units of sound in a language. Then it assembles them into words and sentences. Advanced models like GPT-4 can understand context and nuances making the recognition more accurate.”

Fair enough. But still, that’s a lot of words. So I wanted to distill the definition into something easier. I asked how it would explain it to a kindergartener.

It quickly dove into a sing-song tone. “All right, imagine your voice is like a special song. AI listens to your song, figures out the words, and writes them down. It does this by breaking the song into little pieces, understanding the sounds, and then putting the words together like a puzzle. So it’s like having a friend who can understand and write down your favorite songs.”

Children probably aren’t calling OpenAI, though. So maybe it should explain the service to someone who is older. I asked how it would explain what it does to a 100 year old. At that prompt, the robot voice switched back to its usual monotone.

“I’d say, imagine a device that listens to you speak then converts your words into text. It’s a bit like a typist, but instead of using a typewriter, it uses advanced technology to understand and write down what you’re saying. This technology has learned from lots of conversations so it understands different ways people speak.”

I got enough at that point, so I switched tactics to get into the holiday cheer. I asked for help picking a holiday gift for my mom and ChatGPT encouraged me to put some thought into it. “Well,” it said, “think about what she enjoys.”

We went back and forth a bit on ideas, and I had my final, pressing holiday question: Is Santa Claus real?

Reader, I’m here to say that ChatGPT will softly break it to a curious child that the jolly man who flies across the world giving gifts doesn’t actually exist.

“Santa Claus is a legendary figure who embodies the spirit of giving and joy during the Christmas season,” ChatGPT says. “While the stories about him are fictional, he represents the magic and generosity of the holiday. Did you have any particular questions about Santa?”

So… Santa is not real?

“Santa is a mythical character meaning he’s not a real person you can meet,” ChatGPT said, “but he’s very real in the sense of tradition, imagination, and the joy he brings to many people around the world.”

Prompt, measured, and accurate—if not exactly festive.