How to Build a Voice-First AI Rehearsal Partner

When preparing for a presentation, most people run through slides at their desk, perhaps talking to their screen and making updates here and there. But what if you could walk and talk to your slides and make changes as you move? Could you find a way to rehearse on the go, one slide at a time, using an AI system capable of actually helping?

The Solution: A Voice-First AI Rehearsal Partner

We created a custom voice-first AI rehearsal partner that moves through a presentation one slide at a time while you’re out for a walk. The setup pairs ChatGPT Voice on a phone with Codex running on a desktop, enabling natural speech and real-time coaching, completely hands-free.

What made this different from just reading notes out loud:

• The AI knew exactly what was on each slide, including visuals, animations, and timing cues
• It prompted key details to memorize
• It captured wording to add to presenter notes
• It could update actual slides and notes on the go

The result was a rehearsal experience in which you could talk out loud, and iterate in real time.

How to Set It Up

The approach is intentionally iterative: build a quick MVP and refine it in real time, on the move. Here's how it works:

1. Give your AI tool access to your slides. Using the actual deck — visuals, animations, timing, and all — lets the AI work from real material, not a rough outline.
2. Create a skill specifically for on-the-go rehearsal: have it guide through each slide, prompt key details, listen to the practice run, and provide coaching.
3. Start simple, then iterate out loud. Rather than perfecting the setup upfront, build a basic MVP skill and immediately take it for a walk. You can say things such as, "I don't like how we're doing this; try another way. … Update the skill and let's start over." Real-time, voice-driven iteration.
4. Connect voice to desktop via ChatGPT. The tech backbone: ChatGPT Voice on a phone connected to Codex on a computer through the ChatGPT app. Start a new conversation, speak to Codex, and run a full interactive rehearsal, handsfree, no screen.
5. Repeat until comfortable. Once the skill is dialed in, use it repeatedly to get fully comfortable with every presentation while getting in some steps.

Why This Works (And What Marketers Can Take From It)

This use case is a perfect example of how the best AI implementations don’t need to be the most technically impressive but built around how you actually work.

A few things make this approach worth trying:

It's personalized to your thinking style. The best AI workflows don't change how someone works; they make a natural process possible.

The skill improves over time. Because the skill is built and refined iteratively, it reflects actual preferences and habits. The more you use it, the better it fits.

It's not a one-trick tool. The same basic setup — voice, AI, slides, walking — could work for practicing a sales pitch, rehearsing a client presentation, prepping for a podcast interview, or drilling talking points before a media appearance.

Try It Yourself

You don't need to present at a conference to make this worth building. If you ever have to speak, pitch, or present — and you want a smarter way to prepare — a voice-first AI rehearsal partner is a workflow worth experimenting with.

This post draws from the AI Use Case Spotlight segment of The Artificial Intelligence Show (Episode 247), hosted by Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput. To listen to full episodes and hear more use cases, visit: The AI Show.

For more on building AI-ready marketing teams, explore AI Academy at academy.smarterx.ai.