- The feature lets users speak to DeepSeek and receive spoken responses in four selectable voices
- A low-cost voice model could put pressure on the pricing of AI voice services if DeepSeek extends its API strategy to audio
DeepSeek has quietly begun testing two-way voice conversations in its app, allowing users to speak directly to the Chinese AI chatbot and receive spoken responses for the first time.
The feature entered limited testing on September 12. Selected users can access it through a speaker icon in the top-right corner of the app and choose from four voices: Beike (贝壳), Bailang (白浪), Haixing (海星) and Anchao (暗潮), ranging from lively and playful to deep and resonant.
DeepSeek added a “hold to talk” function in January, but it only converted speech into text before returning a written response.
The latest update completes the other half of the interaction, allowing DeepSeek to speak back.
DeepSeek finds its voice
DeepSeek’s models are already used in hardware including Tesla’s in-car systems, Huawei’s Watch 5, Xiaomi’s XiaoAI and Cat King speakers.
But in those products, the devices themselves handle the voice interface. The latest feature marks the first time DeepSeek is handling both sides of a voice conversation.
The move puts DeepSeek into a voice-AI race led by OpenAI’s GPT-Live and xAI’s Grok Voice. DeepSeek has yet to disclose latency or other performance data, and the feature remains in limited testing.
The pricing question
For developers, the bigger question is whether DeepSeek will bring its aggressive pricing strategy to voice AI. Its low-cost reasoning models have already disrupted the global API market.
If similarly cheap voice capabilities are added to its API offerings, the move could put pressure on the economics of voice services.
That could matter particularly for developers building voice-heavy applications for connected cars, customer service and education.
DeepSeek may not yet challenge the leading voice-AI products on performance, but its pricing could make it a significant new competitor.
