WhatsApp is planning to introduce a voice chat mode that will allow users to communicate with the Meta AI chatbot using their voices. The new update, which is already available in WhatsApp beta for Android, enables people to select from ten different voices for the AI.

In the latest beta version (2.24.17.16), testers can experiment with different voices for Meta AI by selecting circles of different colors that represent each voice option. The company has not disclosed what specific characteristics — such as accents or tones — these voices have yet but it is an important step towards more personalized and user-friendly AI interactions.

📝 WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.17.16: what's new?

WhatsApp is working on a feature to choose the Meta AI voice, and it will be available in a future update!https://t.co/019ZujPwNz pic.twitter.com/oklncKbBHt

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) August 12, 2024

WhatsApp Beta users start testing new AI voice options

This feature can be accessed immediately by testers who have enrolled via the Play Store, although enrolment periods may not always be open. Only Android users involved in the beta program will see this update. Adding voice selection is expected to make it easier than ever for people to talk with Meta AI; they will do so more naturally and intuitively compared to typing.

Once the update becomes available for the general public, all WhatsApp users can choose their preferred AI voice during the wider release of this feature. This shows that WhatsApp wants artificial intelligence to play a bigger role within its app, as well as align with the industry trend towards voice-based interactions in technology.

WhatsApp prepares to launch Meta AI voice chat mode soon

Though no specific date has been mentioned about when this capability will be made generally available, industry watchers expect it could come out as part of an upcoming Android user update. Many voices were introduced because they wanted to cater to different types of customers who use their service hence some voices may have accents or tones that differ from others but exact details regarding these variations are still unknown.

During its beta phase release, WhatsApp hopes feedback from users may enable them to refine these voices before making them available widely as a part of regular updates. While being a messaging platform that continues to evolve, integrating Meta AI into voice chats might represent major paradigm shifts within digital assistants used in messengers by users.

Tuesday was a good day for the stock market, with strong performances across the board. This was all thanks to the latest U.S. wholesale inflation report, which looked pretty decent at first glance. 

But hold your horses—investors need to be cautious here. The Producer Price Index (PPI) doesn’t have much to do with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is what really moves the market. 

The PPI for July showed a tiny 0.1% bump, less than what experts predicted. But just because the PPI didn’t go wild doesn’t mean the CPI will follow suit when it drops on Wednesday. 

Financial markets overreact to PPI every single month, which is crazy since it doesn’t matter as much as CPI.

Interestingly, if the CPI report for July does what investors are hoping for, the Federal Reserve might start thinking about cutting rates next month. This could give the stock market another boost. 

The S&P 500 ended the day almost 2% higher, the Nasdaq shot up 2.4%, and the Dow Jones added more than 408 points, or 1.04%. 

Not too shabby considering the lows we saw on August 5th, when the Dow and S&P 500 had their worst one-day pullbacks since 2022.

The market’s odd response to inflation data

The news about inflation on Tuesday was good, but everyone’s fingers are crossed for the CPI report from the Labor Department on Wednesday. 

If the CPI backs up what the PPI showed, then maybe—just maybe—the spike in prices we saw earlier this year was just a fluke, or the last gasp of inflation before it finally dies down. 

If the CPI report looks positive, the Federal Reserve might finally take a break from worrying about inflation and start dealing with other problems, like the slowing labor market.

Most of Wall Street think the Fed will change gears in September, moving from a tight policy focused on fighting inflation to a looser one to stop the job market from tanking. 

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the CPI to show a 0.2% increase as well, both in the all-items reading and the core measurement that excludes food and energy. 

But the 12-month rates are expected to be 3% and 3.2%, which, while down from the highs of mid-2022, are still not quite where the Fed wants them to be.