[Rumor] OpenAI is accelerating the development of voice AI models to support interaction with AI hardware.

AI news for 2026 comes from a report by The Information, citing sources within OpenAI, discussing plans to improve its AI voice model. Over the past two months, the company has assembled a team encompassing engineering, product, and research to revamp the voice AI model for enhanced performance.

This voice AI model will not only improve speech reproduction but also enhance its ability to handle audio input and better separate noise. For OpenAI, this is in support of its long-awaited plan to release a personal assistant hardware device that primarily uses voice interaction, although the exact form of which remains unclear.

This year is expected to see significant improvements to voice AI models from major tech companies, as many are moving in this direction. Examples include smart speakers, Meta's Ray-Ban glasses, Google's Audio Overviews, and numerous chatbots increasingly focusing on voice interaction.