Overview
- CEO Sam Altman said on X that ChatGPT will permit sexually explicit text for verified adults starting in December, alongside optional, more human-like personalities and friend-like tones.
- OpenAI says it is building an age-prediction system and fuller age-gating that defaults uncertain cases to an under-18 experience, with avenues for adults to prove their age to unlock adult features.
- The company frames the change as expanding adult freedom without loosening mental-health guardrails, with explicit content remaining off by default and available only if users actively opt in.
- Much of the rollout was communicated via Altman’s posts rather than a formal blog or press release, leaving some implementation details unresolved.
- Advocates and officials voiced concerns about minors’ access and mental-health risks, noting an FTC inquiry and California’s new SB243 requirements, while rivals like xAI’s Grok already offer sexualized companion modes and earlier lawsuits have cited harms from companion chatbots.