Anthropic beats OpenAI to agent voice

anthropic updated its claude voice mode to dynamically select the model previously used in text chat—opus, sonnet, or haiku—rather than defaulting exclusively to the fastest haiku tier. The update introduces tool connectivity for apps like Gmail, Slack, and Notion, enabling actions like updating calendar events or drafting documents, which differentiates it from OpenAI's conversational-only voice mode. Beta users across all platforms can access the feature in 11 languages, although the company notes no changes were made to the underlying voice stack or interruption handling. By integrating higher-tier reasoning with tool use, this update transforms Claude from a passive chatbot into an active voice agent capable of executing complex work tasks.