ChatGPT to allow 'erotica' for adult users from December - How OpenAI will verify adults and will it be available through voice, image and video? - All you need to know about latest rollout

In a surprising announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed on X that the company will begin allowing erotic content for verified adult users starting in December 2025. To support this new feature, OpenAI plans to implement a more comprehensive age-verification system as part of its 'treat adult users like adults' policy. The company also intends to ease certain safety restrictions in ChatGPT, giving users greater control to make the chatbot’s responses more personable, engaging, and 'human-like'. But the bigger question is which tool will be used by OpenAI to verify adults. And whether the erotica will restrict to text only or it will take a step further by the introduction of voice, image and video content.

"We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right," Altman wrote on X. "In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults."



The addition of erotic content in ChatGPT is a completely new territory for OpenAI and raises questions about how unprotected users might engage with these new features. While Altman emphasises that the company isn’t 'usage-maxxing' or prioritizing engagement, the introduction of erotica could naturally attract increased user attention.

HOW OPENAI WILL VERIFY ADULTS?

An OpenAI spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company will use its developing age-prediction system to ensure ChatGPT’s erotic features are accessible only to adult users. Altman also explained in a blog post that if the system mistakenly identifies an adult as a minor, users may be required to upload a photo of their government-issued ID to verify their age. While recognizing this as a privacy compromise, he described it as a 'worthy tradeoff' to ensure safe access to adult-oriented content.

WILL 'EROTICA' HAVE VOICE, IMAGE AND VIDEO CONTENT?

It remains uncertain whether OpenAI will bring erotic content to its AI voice, image, or video tools. Altman has categorically said in his post that the company is making ChatGPT both friendlier and capable of handling adult content in line with its 'treat adult users like adults' principle. Over the past year, OpenAI has adopted a more relaxed approach to content moderation, enabling ChatGPT to be more permissive and issue fewer refusals. In February, the company committed to including a broader range of political perspectives, and in March, it updated ChatGPT to allow AI-generated images of hate symbols.