Improved Voice Mode Makes Working With Claude Easier

Anthropic released an upgrade to the Claude AI model family’s voice mode that promises to make it more helpful for users.The updates, revealed in a blog post on July 23, enable Claude to provide more assistance in a number of scenarios, particularly for those using it in a work environment.Until now, voice mode has run on Haiku, Claude’s smallest model, which was chosen for speed. However, as Anthropic acknowledged: “It kept conversations quick, but not always deep.”The generative AI vendor extended voice mode to Claude’s Opus and Sonnet models, with the tool automatically picking up the one users deployed most recently for text chat and also offering the ability to switch models in the middle of a conversation.Anthropic said voice mode will run on the fastest version of whatever model users select, delivering natural conversations.Among the situations where Anthropic says Claude can now offer notably enhanced performance are when offering feedback on communication style, helping with pitches and brainstorming ideas.Related:Tech Companies Urge Caution by US policymakers on Open ModelsAnother new benefit for those who use the tool mainly for work is the ability to talk to third-party connected apps such as Gmail, Slack, Canva and Google Calendar, as long as the feature has been enabled in settings.This lets voice requests to reschedule meetings in users’ calendars, turn a conversation about a client pitch into a one-pager in Canva or instruct Claude to summarize all emails received within a set time and compose responses to the most important ones.Also, voice mode now supports 11 languages. In addition to English, voice mode can now handle conversations in French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Latin American Spanish.However, users who want to switch language mid-conversation will have to tell Claude to do so or adjust the settings, as it can’t yet automatically detect language changes.The update is available in beta to all chat users on mobile, desktop and web, but on the free plan, it's only available on Haiku and one connected third-party tool, though all languages are available.Paid plans provide access to all connected tools and all the models, with voice conversations counting toward usage limits.About the AuthorContributing WriterGraham Hope has worked in automotive journalism in the U.K. for 26 years, including spells as editor of leading consumer news website and weekly Auto Express and respected buying guide CarBuyer.