Nothing wins the ChatGPT earbuds race: the AI bot is coming to all Nothing buds soon

Nothing Earbuds with ChatGPT banner, on black background

(Image credit: Nothing (with ChatGPT))

Nothing is about to make good on its April 18 promise to add ChatGPT to its earbuds – and made good time on it, because it's coming sooner than the expected June rollout. May 21 is the date to expect it t arrive in an update. And in doing so, Carl Pei's company has officially won the ChatGPT earbuds integration race.

But that's not even the biggest news. It's not just Nothing's newest or flagship progeny that's receiving the update – all Nothing-branded earbuds will get the prolific AI chatbot. Own a set of Nothing Ear, Nothing Ear (a), the inaugural July 2021 Nothing Ear (1), the October 2022 follow-up Nothing Ear (Stick), the March 2023 Nothing Ear (2) or Nothing's budget CMF by Nothing Buds, including the CMF Neckband Pro and CMF Buds Pro? You're all set to get ChatGPT, provided you own a Nothing smartphone (Nothing Phone 1, Nothing Phone 2 or Nothing Phone 2a) and you update the Nothing X app on or after the big day.

ChatGPT on-the-go. Alongside Ear and Ear (a), our ChatGPT integration is coming to all of our audio products: Ear (1), Ear (stick), Ear (2), CMF Buds, CMF Neckband Pro, and CMF Buds Pro. Update your Nothing X app on May 21st. pic.twitter.com/KwdzsJSHbpMay 13, 2024

On May 21, Nothing tells us that users will be able to pinch-to-speak to ChatGPT directly from Nothing audio products paired with Nothing phones, once they have updated the Nothing X app to activate the feature. If this can dial into ChatGPT-4o's awesomely/terrifyingly realistic new voice responses, it could be a hell of a feature.

Got to hand it to Nothing, that's really something

At a time when audio heavy-hitters seem to be killing the clock – Spotify Supremium has been leaked on multiple occasions but still hasn't launched; Apple's long-rumored HomePod with a screen is, well, still a rumor; Siri's update is sorely needed but won't come until iOS 18 in September – it's impressive to see a relative newcomer not only making good on its promise, but improving on the timeframe.

The affordable Nothing Ear (a), announced alongside the flagship Nothing Ear on April 18, quickly made it straight into our pick of the best earbuds around for sound, features, stamina, noise cancellation and comfort – and that was before an improvement to the Transparency Mode and ChatGPT joined the party.

Another nice touch is that Nothing hasn't stuck this flagship (and at the time of writing, unique) feature behind a flagship-product-only paywall, because even the budget CMF by Nothing earbuds are getting the popular AI assistant – provided you'e also paid for a Nothing smartphone.

It's worth pointing out that you don't have to use ChatGPT as your default voice assistant on your Nothing device using your Nothing buds if you don't want to. That said, I think it'll be a top feature to toy with, especially when my own experience with vocal-assistance within earbuds is middling at best. Amazon's Echo Buds lineup, for example, has been offering hands-free Alexa for years, but I find the earbuds uncomfortable and insecure in my ears – and although the sound quality is acceptable for the price, it's easily beaten by the superior sonic chops of the Nothing Ear (a).

Exciting times if you own a set of Nothing earbuds, then – it might even be time to keep an eye out for the Nothing Phone 3…

Becky became Audio Editor at TechRadar in 2024, but joined the team in 2022 as Senior Staff Writer, focusing on all things hi-fi. Before this, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.