ChatGPT is about to support 'adult chat' feature, launching in December 2025

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently made headlines when he revealed that ChatGPT will soon be able to join adult-themed conversations — including explicit content — exclusively for age-verified users, starting in December 2025.

On social network X (formerly Twitter), Altman shared:

'We used to put strict limits on ChatGPT to ensure mental health safety. While that made the experience less enjoyable for many people, given the sensitivity of the issue, we had to be cautious. Now, with new controls and safety measures in place, we can appropriately loosen these limits.'

Changing approach after 'overly cautious' period

OpenAI has always been considered a company with a very 'conservative' stance when it comes to handling adult content. Previous versions of ChatGPT were strictly limited to avoid risks related to the psychology and ethics of using AI.

In a conversation with journalist Cleo Abram, Altman joked: 'We never put a 'sex-bot avatar' in ChatGPT.' He admitted that such features could make users more engaged, but OpenAI deliberately avoided them because 'we wanted to focus on practical value and emotional safety, not exploit human frailty.'

Even in another interview with The Verge, Mr. Altman emphasized:

'There will be a lot of companies creating 'Japanese-style anime sex-bots' because they think they've figured out the formula for engaging users. But OpenAI won't go that route.'

New ChatGPT: more personal, more friendly and more 'user-aware'

Altman says the upcoming version of ChatGPT will have the same flexible, approachable, and natural personality that users loved about GPT-4o.

'In the coming weeks, we'll be rolling out a new ChatGPT update that will allow users to customize their chatbot's personality — whether they want ChatGPT to be more friendly, use more emojis, or respond in a more playful, humorous way… ChatGPT will be able to do that (if users want it to, of course).'

While still based on the GPT-5 model, the new version will be tweaked to accommodate changes to 'personality' and conversation mechanics.

This update is part of OpenAI's 'treat adults like adults' approach — giving them more freedom to choose how ChatGPT interacts, while still ensuring safety and tight controls for underage users.