OpenAI's Realtime API Now Live for Production Voice Applications

OpenAI has released its Realtime API for production use, allowing developers to embed bidirectional voice conversations into applications with sub-200ms latency via WebRTC and WebSocket protocols. The gpt-realtime model handles audio encoding, voice activity detection, and interruption management at the infrastructure level, eliminating the need for separate transcription and text-to-speech services. Standard API pricing lowers barriers for voice-first tools in customer service, education, and accessibility.