OpenAI has decided that it’s the last season to talk to AI alone. The company has now unveiled group chat for ChatGPIT, its first shared experience for general users, which lets people team up with friends, family or colleagues in the same conversation and brainstorm with an AI referee who keeps an eye on the chaos. The feature is currently being launched as a pilot in only four regions: Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan. Still, OpenAI says it plans to expand reach once it gets initial feedback (and possibly once ChatGPT recovers from its first million invites to WhatsApp-style family feuds).

Chatgpt launches group chat

Explaining the update, OpenAI said, “With group chat, you can bring friends, family or colleagues into a shared space to plan, make decisions or work through ideas together.” It’s essentially the company’s answer to collaboration tools already offered by rivals like Meta AI and Anthropic, but incorporated directly into ChatGPIT’s familiar interface.

Users can start a group by tapping on the new people icon that now sits quietly in the corner of the app. ChatGPT then generates a shareable link that anyone with a free or paid account can use to join. Up to 20 people can join a conversation, which is either a great way to design a project or a guaranteed way to never agree on anything.

If you want to turn an existing one-on-one chat into a group, ChatGPT graciously creates a copy of the original thread, so your private conversation remains intact while the group gets its new chat to move forward. Each participant sets up a profile with a name, username, and photo, helping everyone keep track of who’s typing, and who’s overusing emojis.

Group chats are neatly housed in a new sidebar section, ready to be repurposed for planning vacations, rewriting presentations, or debating dinner plans with AI-mediated diplomacy.

OpenAI says chatbots now behave differently inside groups. Instead of responding to every single message, it evaluates the flow and waits for the right moment. Users can also call it out by tagging it, like a very patient coworker who never complains.

And yes, ChatGPT can now react to your messages with emojis. If you’ve ever wished that a robot could silently test your ideas with a thumbs-up, the future has arrived.

Group creators can add or remove participants, while anyone can change the name of the chat or mute notifications, an important feature if you have at least one overjoyed friend in your group.

You can also set custom instructions per group, meaning ChatGPT can perform formal tasks in your work chat and remain completely unaffected in your meme-sharing circle without the two people mixing.

Behind the scenes, group chats use GPT-5.1 auto, which selects the best model available for each participant. This means that if one friend has ChatGPT Pro and another is still using the free tier, the AI ​​will send responses individually tailored to each account. Same chat, different model strengths, a curious but useful twist.

All the core ChatGPT features work here too, including web search, image upload, file sharing, dictation and image creation, meaning the group can plan a road trip, calculate numbers, design posters and design matching T-shirts without leaving the chat.

Privacy and parental controls

OpenAI emphasizes that private memory will not apply to group chats, and the AI ​​will not store any shared content. Anyone can exit the group at any time, and only the creator cannot be kicked out. If a minor is involved, sensitive content filters are automatically turned on for everyone, a handy safety net for parents, who can also disable group chats entirely.

For now, this feature is still in its test-drive phase. But once the global rollout begins, ChatGPT group chat could become the Internet’s newest meeting room, study buddy, party planner, and group therapist all at the same time.