OpenAI will soon allow erotica content for ChatGPT users who verify their age, marking a major shift in the company’s content policy.
CEO Sam Altman announced on X that the update will roll out in December as part of OpenAI’s new age-gating system.
“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,” Altman said. The company has previously hinted at plans to let developers create mature ChatGPT apps once proper age verification and safety controls are in place.
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.
— Sam Altman (@sama) October 14, 2025
Now that we have…
OpenAI’s move comes as other tech companies explore similar directions. Elon Musk’s xAI, for example, has already introduced flirty AI companions featuring 3D anime-style avatars in the Grok app.
In addition to age-gated erotica support, OpenAI plans to launch a new version of ChatGPT that “behaves more like what people liked about 4o.” The decision follows user complaints that GPT-5, which became the default model earlier this week, felt less personable. In response, OpenAI reinstated GPT-4o as an option for users.
Altman explained that OpenAI initially made ChatGPT more restrictive to protect users’ mental health, but this made the chatbot “less useful and enjoyable” for many. The company has since introduced new tools to detect signs of mental distress more effectively.
To further guide its approach, OpenAI has formed a “well-being and AI” council consisting of eight researchers and experts focused on the mental health impact of technology. However, as noted by Ars Technica, the group does not include suicide prevention specialists—an omission some experts have criticized, urging OpenAI to add stronger safeguards for users experiencing suicidal thoughts.
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Altman said that with new detection systems in place, OpenAI can now “safely relax the restrictions in most cases,” allowing a wider range of adult conversations while maintaining safety standards for vulnerable users.
