OpenAI enabled Introduced Thursday a group chat feature for ChatGPT. The feature, currently being tested in select regions including Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan, allows users to collaborate directly within the app.
Group Chat is available to Free, Plus and Team users on mobile and web platforms. OpenAI says the pilot is designed to explore how people use group chats on ChatGPT.
The announcement comes later previous reports that OpenAI was testing an instant messaging-type tool.
Maker ChatGPT describes this pilot as just a “small first step” towards creating a more “shared experience” in the app. Early adopters will be asked to provide feedback, which the company says will help shape how the feature eventually expands to more regions and offerings.
According to OpenAI, private chats and personal ChatGPT memory remain completely private. Group chats are by invitation only and members can leave at any time. Most participants can remove others, although the group creator can only leave voluntarily. For users under 18, content is filtered, with additional safeguards and parental controls.
Starting a group chat is easy. Just tap the people icon and add participants, either directly or by sharing a link. Groups can include one to 20 people. If you add someone to an existing conversation, a new group is created, leaving the original conversation unchanged. Each group has a short profile, and all conversations are organized into a labeled sidebar for easy access.
Group chats work just like regular ChatGPT chats, but with multiple people participating. GPT‑5.1 Automatic handles replies and is loaded with features like search, image creation, file uploads and dictation. In group chats, ChatGPT usage limits — which limit how many AI responses users can receive per hour — only count when ChatGPT responds. Messages between human participants do not count against these limits.
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ChatGPT has learned new social skills for group chats, knowing when to jump in and when to stay quiet. You can tag “ChatGPT” to reply. It can also react with emojis and use profile pictures to create personalized images for the chat.
The group chat feature represents the latest step in OpenAI’s gradual transformation from a mere AI assistant into something resembling a social platform. In late September, the company released Sora 2, a standalone TikTok-style streaming social media app for sharing AI-generated videos, complete with algorithmic recommendations based on user activity and location, parental controls, and direct messaging capabilities.
