OpenAI is taking ChatGPT beyond one-on-one conversations, the company has just launched a pilot group chat feature for ChatGPT, currently available in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan.
What’s New: ChatGPT in Group Mode
- Users (on Free, Plus, and Team plans) on mobile and web can now start group chats inside the ChatGPT app.
- These group chats support up to 20 people, letting friends, family, or coworkers collaborate with each other, and with ChatGPT.
- To create a group chat, you tap the “people” icon and either add participants directly or share an invite link.
- Each user in the group sets up a small profile (name, username, photo), which helps personalize the experience.
How ChatGPT Behaves in a Group
- ChatGPT in a group is no longer overly talkative, it’s been given social behavior: it figures out when to speak and when to stay silent.
- You can tag “ChatGPT” in your message to explicitly ask for a response.
- The AI can also use emojis when reacting, and it can generate personalized images based on the group members’ profile photos.
- Under the hood, the conversations are handled by GPT-5.1 Auto, which picks the best model to respond based on what’s available to the users in that chat.
- The group chat supports rich features: search, image generation, file uploads, and voice dictation.
Usage Limits & Privacy
- OpenAI has tweaked the rate limits: only ChatGPT’s replies count toward your usage quota. Human-to-human messages between participants don’t affect the limit.
- Crucially, private memory stays private: ChatGPT’s memory from your personal chats isn’t shared with the group.
- Also, ChatGPT doesn’t form new long-term memories from group conversations (at least for now), this pilot is very cautious about privacy.
- The groups are invite-only. Participants can leave whenever they want, and members (except the creator) can also be removed by others.
- For users under 18, there are additional safety measures: content filters are automatically applied in the group, and parental controls can be turned on or off.
Why This Matters
- This is a significant step toward making ChatGPT not just an assistant, but a shared tool for collaboration: think trip planning, team brainstorming, parenting decisions, whatever requires collective input.
- By bringing people together in one conversation, OpenAI is trying to make ChatGPT more social, not just for solitary use, but as a shared companion.
- The pilot is currently limited to just four regions, suggesting that OpenAI is testing user behavior, gathering feedback, and iterating before a wider rollout.
- Over time, if it proves successful, group chats could become a core part of how people use ChatGPT, not just as a productivity tool but as a social and collaborative space.
The Bigger Picture
- This move is part of a larger trend: OpenAI is gradually transforming ChatGPT from a solo assistant into something more like a social platform.
- Interestingly, this comes after OpenAI launched Sora 2, a standalone social app where users can share AI-generated video content, complete with feed algorithms and messaging.
- There are both upsides and risks: On the plus side, group chat with AI can help plan, decide, and create together. On the flip side, there are privacy concerns and questions about how much the AI learns from shared conversations.
What’s Next
- OpenAI says it’s relying on early feedback from this pilot to decide how and when to expand this feature.
- It’s highly likely that, if things go well, more regions and more ChatGPT plans will get access.
- Future updates could include more granular memory controls, better content moderation, or even deeper integrations with other collaborative tools.
Bottom line: OpenAI’s group chat pilot is a bold move. By bringing multiple users and AI together in the same conversation, ChatGPT could become much more than a personal assistant, it could evolve into a shared partner in decision-making, planning, and creativity.
