OpenAI Turns ChatGPT Into a Group Hangout With New Global Chat Feature

OpenAI just gave ChatGPT a social life.

The tech giant is launching group chats within ChatGPT for users worldwide, enabling people to collaborate and interact with ChatGPT in a single shared thread.

The feature was tested last week in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan, and the company says that the early response played a significant role in rolling it out to everyone.

As OpenAI said in its update, “Early feedback from the pilot has been positive, so we’re expanding group chats to all logged-in users on ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans globally over the coming days.” The new feature lets up to 20 people join one conversation with ChatGPT. 

OpenAI noted that starting a group chat is simple: tapping the people icon in any chat opens an option to invite others. When someone is added, ChatGPT automatically creates a copy of the original conversation, ensuring that private chats remain separate and distinct. 

Users can join through a shared link, set up a short profile, and find their groups in a dedicated section of the sidebar.

Step-by-step guide on how to start a group chat in ChatGPT. Image: OpenAI

The company said the experience is powered by GPT-5.1 Auto, which selects the best model available to the person ChatGPT is responding to. OpenAI emphasized that privacy was built into the design from the outset. Group chats do not use anyone’s personal ChatGPT memory, and new memories are not created from these shared conversations. 

Everyone in the group can see who is present, and members can leave at any time. If a user under 18 is part of a group, ChatGPT automatically reduces exposure to sensitive content for all group members. Parents and guardians can also disable group chats through parental controls.

A step toward more social AI

TechCrunch notes the company views group chats as the beginning of a more collaborative platform, not just a solo tool. In an email to the publication, OpenAI said, “Over time, we see ChatGPT playing a more active role in real group conversations, helping people plan, create, and take action together.”

The company echoed this in its own blog post, saying, “Group chats are just the beginning of ChatGPT becoming a shared space to collaborate and interact with others.” 

After launching GPT-5.1 earlier this month and introducing a series of social-leaning features such as the Sora app, group chats show OpenAI leaning further into multi-user experiences.

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