OpenAI to allow erotic content on ChatGPT for verified adults: Sam Altman

OpenAI has announced it will ease restrictions on ChatGPT, including allowing erotic content for verified adults, as part of a new approach to "treat adult users like adults". This marks a shift in the company’s policy, aiming to give users more control over how they interact with the tool.

CEO Sam Altman explained in a post on X that earlier safety measures, brought in to address mental health concerns had made ChatGPT "less useful / enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems".

He added, “Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases’’. However, OpenAI has yet to present solid evidence supporting these claims.



The tighter guardrails had followed the tragic suicide of Adam Raine, a teenager from California. His parents had filed a lawsuit alleging that ChatGPT had given him specific advice on how to end his life.

As part of the update, OpenAI is also introducing features that let users customise ChatGPT’s personality. For example, making it sound more like a friend, using more emojis, or replying in a more natural, human-like way.

The biggest change is expected in December, when OpenAI plans to introduce stricter age-verification checks, which will allow access to erotic content for adults.

This move into adult content is a first for OpenAI and raises concerns about how vulnerable users might interact with these features. Despite this, Altman insists the company isn’t “usage-maxxing” or focussed on boosting engagement. Still, adding erotic options could attract more users.

OpenAI is facing growing competition and is under pressure to expand its reach. Although ChatGPT already has 800 million weekly active users, the company is racing to keep up with tech giants like Google and Meta, who are also building AI-driven consumer tools.