Anthropic engineer Thariq Shihipar announced the gradual rollout of Voice Mode for Claude Code on Tuesday. The feature is live for approximately 5% of users, with a broader release planned for the coming weeks.
The launch expands the AI coding assistant’s capabilities to include hands-free, conversational workflows. This update positions Claude Code to compete more directly with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Google, and OpenAI in the rapidly growing developer tools market.
In February, Anthropic reported that Claude Code’s run-rate revenue surpassed $2.5 billion. This figure represents a doubling of revenue since the beginning of 2026. Weekly active users for the coding assistant have also doubled since January.
Voice Mode is enabled by typing /voice to toggle the system on. Users can then speak commands such as “refactor the authentication middleware” to execute coding requests. Anthropic launched Voice Mode for its standard Claude chatbot in May 2025.
Limitations on the new capability remain unclear. It is unknown if the feature uses a third-party AI voice provider like ElevenLabs. Anthropic has not yet responded to requests for comment from TechCrunch.
Claude Code competes with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Google, and OpenAI. Claude’s mobile app recently surged to the top of the U.S. App Store charts. This growth followed Anthropic’s refusal to allow the Department of Defense to use its AI for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons.
