If you're feeling lonely and just need someone to talk to, OpenAI has you covered. The company announced today that anyone can now call ChatGPT by phone at 1-800-CHATGPT (242-8478). Callers are limited to 15 minutes per month; anyone outside the US can also text ChatGPT via WhatsApp to the same number.

OpenAI has been pushing voice and video interaction recently as a more natural way to interact with ChatGPT. Users of the ChatGPT app can turn on their cameras and ask the bot questions about what it sees.

Today's release seems like a gimmick play to attract some cheap attention—the people who use ChatGPT are probably tech-savvy, after all, and probably already interface with the chatbot through an app. But that's kind of the point: OpenAI says that making ChatGPT accessible by phone will introduce the chatbot to newcomers. The company said The Verge that it will not use these conversations for training. Of course, OpenAI too used to say it was a non-profit dedicated to making life better for humanity. Things have changed.

Anyone who wants to use more comprehensive features or has access to higher usage limits will still want to use the standard ChatGPT app. That's exactly how ChatGPT works now integrated with iOS through Siri. Some questions will be forwarded to ChatGPT to answer, but if you want the full experience you'll need to go to the ChatGPT app itself. The iOS integration is a way for OpenAI to promote the product to more than one billion Apple users.

OpenAI has been announcing new products every day recently as part of the "12 Days of Shipmas." Some announcements are more important, such as the release of Sora video generator and Canvas, a new way of interfacing with ChatGPT. Today's announcement seems like cheaper filler.