One of Google's biggest competitors, OpenAI's ChatGPT, is apparently making a move into the high-end smartphone market dominated by Google Assistant. Mishaal Rahman from the authoritative Android website discovered that the ChatGPT app is working on supporting Android's voice assistant API and a system-level floating interface. If the company launches this feature, users will be able to set the ChatGPT app as the system-level assistant app, allowing it to pop up and respond to user queries anywhere in the Android system. ChatGPT initially started as a text-based generative AI, but in September, it added voice and image input capabilities. Typically, system-level comprehensive assistants available on Android are provided by Google Assistant, but this is not Google's exclusive preference—it is achieved through a public API that any application can access. You can only enable one app as the system-level "default assistant app," and beyond the initial setup, users must manually change it. The assistant API is designed to be powerful and keep certain parts of the app running at all times, regardless of your location. As the default assistant app, it can be launched via the power button or a gesture and can also read text and images on the current screen for processing. If an Android manufacturer signs an agreement with ChatGPT and includes it as a pre-installed system app, ChatGPT can even use always-on voice wake words, such as "Hey, ChatGPT," to launch the app when the screen is off. System apps have more permissions than regular apps, but the always-on voice wake word permission is only granted to these system apps, so ChatGPT would need to sign a distribution agreement with an Android manufacturer. Given ChatGPT's popularity, it is believed that many companies would sign such an agreement if it were offered. Rahman discovered that the recently released ChatGPT version 1.2023.352 includes a new activity called "com.openai.voice.assistant.AssistantActivity." After enabling the usually disabled feature, Rahman found the new floating API for ChatGPT. This is the semi-transparent rotating sphere interface typically used by voice assistants, although Rahman has not been able to make it respond to voice commands yet. Of course, the problem with third-party voice assistant apps like Google Assistant as alternatives is that they do not run a robust app ecosystem. Just like Bixby and Alexa, there are no good apps to host your notes, reminders, calendar entries, shopping list items, or other input-based functionalities you may want to perform. However, as an alternative to Google Search, if you ask it a question and get an answer, it could be a decent choice. Google has long neglected Google Assistant, but with the rise of generative AI, it is working on using some of Google Bard's intelligence to improve the assistant. It is also reportedly developing another assistant called "Pixie," expected to be released by the end of 2024 with the Pixel 9 smartphone.