03:54 PM EST, 12/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with details throughout.)

Users can now try out OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot using a toll-free telephone number or by text through Meta Platform's (META) WhatsApp, the Microsoft ( MSFT )- (MSFT) backed artificial intelligence company said on Thursday.

OpenAI initially is providing callers using the 1-800-ChatGPT (242-8478) phone number with up to 15 minutes of voice access every month, OpenAI said in a post. It will also have a daily limit on conversations made through WhatsApp, but may adjust those caps in the future depending on capacity.

Select features will be missing, the company said, explaining that WhatsApp messaging currently will be limited to text conversations, while features that require logging in also aren't available at this time. The knowledge cutoff for 1-800-ChatGPT is October 2023, it said.

OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in October from investors that also included chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Thrive Capital in a deal valuing the company at around $157 billion. Microsoft ( MSFT ) originally invested in OpenAI in 2019 and has committed up to $13 billion in total funding, according to a regulatory filing.

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