How does AI voice chat moderation affect GTA Online players?

Rockstar has been adding AI voice chat moderation to GTA Online throughout the year with frequent tunable updates. As part of the Chop Shop DLC, a recent update to the game has increased its effectiveness, and as of now, voice chat moderation is active on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar first introduced this feature exclusively for PCs in October, and as of December 14, 2023, it was expanded to cover half of all sessions on the current-gen consoles.

Players have been eager to know how this affects them and if their voice chat is being monitored or not. With that in mind, here's everything you need to know about AI voice chat moderation in Grand Theft Auto Online and how it changes the game.

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AI voice chat moderation and its effects on GTA Online

With the GTA Online Chop Shop update in December 2023, Rockstar expanded the AI voice chat moderation feature that they had previously introduced and started implementing it on consoles as well. Currently, 50% of all GTA Online sessions on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be moderated. On PC, this applies to all sessions.

The move is meant to tackle toxic behavior in multiplayer, as the AI voice moderation tool, ToxMod, is expected to recognize and flag hate speech. This can include racist, sexist, and transphobic speech or any hateful and derogatory remarks in general.

Rockstar Games haven't revealed the exact manner in which they will deal with those who engage in hate speech. However, violators are expected to get warnings for committing an offense, and repeat offenders may get their accounts permanently banned. Of course, there's also a chance that offenders will get banned immediately without any warning.

GTA Online players are naturally wondering whether voice moderation also applies to "friendly trash talk." Rockstar has already taken this into account, and here's what they said:

"While there is no place in our community for player-to-player harassment, we do allow friendly competitive talk. Our moderation is tuned to the existing Rockstar Games Code of Conduct and takes into consideration conversational and other context."

Despite this, players should be cautious of what they say when they're using the in-game voice chat. Since it's AI-moderated, there's no way to be certain of what will be considered hate speech and what will be flagged as "friendly competitive talk." You can also choose to disable the voice chat feature from the settings menu.

The fact that some conversations will be recorded for moderation has raised privacy concerns in the community. Rockstar addressed this with the following statement:

"Protecting our players’ privacy has always been a priority. When necessary for player safety, some audio chat may be securely recorded and retained for a limited period. It will never be sold or rented to third parties."

As revealed by Rockstar Support, voice chat moderation is still in the testing phase, and the feature is expected to be fully implemented in 2024.

The AI voice chat moderation was first brought into effect on October 3, 2023, as reported by Tez2, a popular GTA Online insider. They also added two new reporting options — Phone Texts and Emails. This update, however, was specifically for the PC version of the game.

With this feature, Rockstar started recording all voice chat for moderation and review, most of which would be done with the AI program. Some other insiders claimed that the game would listen to microphone audio even on loading screens and the main menu.

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In other news, GTA 5 actor Ned Luke was swatted while livestreaming the game on his YouTube channel ahead of New Year's Day.