Anthropic expands Claude voice mode with model selection and tool-use capabilities
The latest update allows users to switch between Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku models while enabling voice commands to interact with Gmail, Slack, and Notion, marking a significant shift from the platform’s previous Haiku-only limitation.
Anthropic has rolled out a substantial update to its Claude voice mode, enabling users to select from its Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku model families. This development marks a significant departure from the platform’s initial release last year, which was restricted to the Haiku model. While Haiku provided rapid responses, it was often deemed insufficient for complex tasks, a limitation this update seeks to address by offering greater computational flexibility.
The new voice interface introduces tool-use capabilities, allowing voice interactions to integrate directly with external applications including Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, Canva, and Notion. Users can now execute practical workflows such as rescheduling meetings, drafting emails, and creating documents through voice commands. The system is designed to automatically default to the fastest version of the model last used in text chat, streamlining the user experience.
This functionality positions Claude in direct competition with OpenAI’s recent updates to ChatGPT’s voice mode. While OpenAI has enhanced its conversational style and launched ChatGPT Health for US users, its current voice interface lacks the ability to utilise external tools for task completion. Anthropic’s move to embed tool-use into the voice layer represents a distinct strategic divergence in how AI assistants are deployed for productivity.
Beyond functional upgrades, the update expands multilingual support to include English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Although earlier beta versions required manual language specification, the expanded support broadens the platform’s accessibility. The update also supports longer, more complex conversations, facilitating activities such as client pitch rehearsals and product market research brainstorming.
The updated voice mode is available in beta across all platforms. However, access tiers remain differentiated; free users are restricted to the Haiku model and a single connected application. Paid subscribers gain access to the full suite of models and multiple app connections. Anthropic has not disclosed the specific technical details of the voice stack employed in this release, nor have there been reported improvements to conversational mechanics such as interruption handling.
