ChatGPT
ChatGPT is a versatile artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, available in both free and premium versions. As of 2026, it remains an essential daily tool — primarily for voice dictation, real-time research, and communication composition — even as other AI tools have taken over coding-related workflows.
Accessing ChatGPT
Voice Dictation
ChatGPT has become the primary dictation tool in my workflow, fully replacing both Google Docs voice typing and macOS native voice typing. The voice-to-text accuracy is superior to both alternatives, making it the go-to for converting spoken thoughts into written text.
A common workflow is to simply dictate text into ChatGPT and then copy the transcription into another application — using ChatGPT purely as an ASR (automatic speech recognition) tool rather than as an LLM. For example, drafting messages or notes by voice and then pasting the result into Claude AI CLI for further processing.
I use ChatGPT exclusively in the Safari browser for dictation. A long-standing defect in Chromium caused voice input issues in both Google Chrome and the macOS ChatGPT desktop app. While this bug has reportedly been resolved, the Safari habit stuck — and it remains the only reason I use Safari at all.
By comparison, I recently tested voice ASR in the Claude web interface and found to be significantly lacking compared to ChatGPT's implementation.
Real-Time Research
ChatGPT's browsing and search capabilities make it a powerful research tool. Typical use cases include:
- Looking up recent news and current events
- Finding evidence or references for a topic (e.g., "find a Reddit thread that discusses this")
- Fact-checking claims or verifying information quickly
- Gathering background context before diving deeper into a subject
This has largely replaced the workflow of manually searching Google and sifting through results.
Communication Composition
ChatGPT is regularly used for drafting and refining communications — emails, messages, and professional correspondence. The combination of voice dictation and AI-assisted editing makes it particularly efficient for producing polished written communication quickly.
TriLuna Voice Agents
For the TriLuna AI voice agent platform, GPT-5.2 and higher models are used in production. The more advanced models are required for reliably handling complex webhook tool interactions, such as scheduling appointments or processing orders, where less capable models tend to fail on multi-step tool calls.
Historical Notes
Voice Feature Evolution
In 2023, I used an application called VoiceGPT, which was a ChatGPT wrapper that included a TTS feature to read responses aloud. Later, OpenAI launched their own mobile app with a voice feature, with a voice impressively similar to Scarlett Johansson, called "Sky". However, it turned out that this move followed an unsuccessful attempt by Sam Altman to obtain Johansson's permission to use her voice, reminiscent of her role in the 2013 movie Her. Despite her refusal, OpenAI proceeded to create a similar voice. After she threatened legal action, they removed the "Sky" voice. The newly introduced male voice, which frequently uses filler sounds like 'ums' and 'ahs', sends me directly into Uncanny Valley.
Early Technical Challenges
In early 2025, ChatGPT's web interface suffered from frequent timeouts and session interruptions, as well as persistent hyperlink malfunctions where links would not activate upon clicking. Both issues have since been resolved.
Comparative Insights
While ChatGPT excels at voice dictation, real-time research, and communication composition, I no longer use it for any AI-assisted coding. All coding work is done exclusively through Claude AI CLI (Claude Code). OpenAI's Codex is a comparable product to Claude Code but has not displaced it in my workflow.