ChatGPT engagement wanes on `content restrictions’: OpenAI CFO tells investors

ChatGPT users are spending less time on the AI chatbot, parent OpenAI’s finance chief Sarah Friar told top investors in a closed earnings call, according to the tech publication Sources.

The decline in user engagement stems from “content restrictions” imposed in August to avoid risks associated with mental health and emotional dependency, Friar said in the meeting last week. She was responding to queries on the growth momentum of the popular conversational model.

In October, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said his company would loosen these restrictions by December, once age verification comes to ChatGPT. With this, users will get more control over how they use the service — including tone and personality — and even access to erotica.


Altman had clarified that the move is meant to “treat adult users like adults”, and “not because we are usage-maxing”.

Friar told investors that the reversal of curbs is expected to reverse ChatGPT’s dwindling growth momentum, per the report.

OpenAI also released GPT-5.1 last week, which it says is “a lot more conversational”, along with personality options, including nerdy, friendly, cynical, and efficient.

Sluggish traffic on ChatGPT has been a concern for the past few months. The popular chatbot lagged behind Meta AI, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, and Microsoft Copilot on this front between September and October, according to Similarweb data.

Earlier this month, Friar sought government backing for OpenAI’s ambitious AI infrastructure buildout, which was misconstrued as a bailout request. Misunderstanding or not, the chain of events have put OpenAI’s financials under the spotlight.