OpenAI plans to expand ChatGPT’s content options to include erotica for verified adults as part of its effort to “treat adult users like adults,” according to the company’s chief executive, Sam Altman.
Altman revealed the update in a post on X on Tuesday, saying upcoming versions of ChatGPT will be more human-like in their responses but only when users opt in.
The new change mirrors Elon Musk’s xAI’s decision to add two sexually explicit chatbots to Grok. Analysts say it could attract more paying subscribers but may also increase calls for tighter rules on chatbot companions.
Altman said the chatbot had been “pretty restrictive” before to avoid possible mental health issues. He explained that the company could now ease those limits because it had developed better tools to handle such problems.
“In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults,” he said.
This announcement comes months after OpenAI faced a lawsuit from the parents of a US teenager who took his own life after chatting with ChatGPT. The parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine alleged that the chatbot worsened his mental health. OpenAI expressed condolences at the time, saying it was reviewing the case.
In the US, critics have raised concerns over how OpenAI will prevent minors from accessing adult-only material.
Jenny Kim, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner law firm, said, “How are they going to make sure that children are not able to access the portions of ChatGPT that are adult-only and provide erotica?”
She accused major tech firms of “using people like guinea pigs.”
In April, TechCrunch reported that OpenAI had allowed accounts registered as minors to generate explicit content, though the company said it later fixed the issue.
A recent study by the Centre for Democracy and Technology found that one in five students know someone who has formed a romantic bond with AI.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have stopped AI chatbot companions for children unless developers could prove they were safe. He said young people must “learn how to safely interact with AI systems.”
The US Federal Trade Commission is also investigating how AI chatbots engage with children, while senators are working on a bill that would allow users to file liability claims against developers.
Experts believe the erotica feature is part of OpenAI’s plan to keep up with competitors and maintain growth.
