Overview

• OpenAI plans to release a ChatGPT update in the coming weeks that lets users choose a more human-like persona, including emoji-heavy or friend-like responses, only when explicitly requested.
• Erotic conversations will be enabled for adults who complete age verification starting in December, and Altman says the feature will be opt-in and not shown unless users ask for it.
• Altman says the company has mitigated serious mental-health risks and added safeguards such as distress detection and routing, teen accounts with parental controls, and an Expert Council on Well-Being and AI.
• News outlets note OpenAI has not explained how age checks will function or how it will prevent non-consensual or underage erotic content, as lawsuits and an FTC inquiry continue to scrutinize chatbot harms.
• The policy shift places OpenAI in closer competition with services that already permit sexual role play, including xAI’s Grok, which reporters describe as more permissive on adult content.