OpenAI has officially announced that it will allow ChatGPT to generate adult erotica for verified users starting in December, after relaxing its strict content policies. The company says this decision is part of its new principle to “treat adult users like adults,” while still keeping strong mental health and child protection safeguards in place.
The company tries to balance user freedom with responsibility and safety. The change also puts OpenAI in direct competition with Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot, which already allows more open conversations.
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter), explaining that the company had made ChatGPT “pretty restrictive” at the start to avoid risks, especially after public concerns about AI and mental health. He said that new mental health safety tools have now made it possible to allow more freedom while keeping users safe.
Altman wrote, “You won’t get it unless you ask for it,” adding that adult content will not appear by default. Only verified users who clearly request it will be able to access it. The company says this is part of its effort to respect the freedom of adults without exposing younger audiences to inappropriate material.
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.
Now that we have…
— Sam Altman (@sama) October 14, 2025He added that the team had worked carefully to design safety systems that protect teenagers and people with mental health challenges while improving user experience for everyone else.
OpenAI said it will roll out advanced age-verification systems in December to make sure only verified adults can access erotic content. Logged-in users’ ages will be automatically detected, and anyone under 18 will be blocked from seeing mature material.
OpenAI is also testing behavior-based prediction technology, which can estimate a user’s likely age based on how they interact with ChatGPT. The company said this system would help catch users who try to fake their age or access adult content without permission.
Earlier in September, OpenAI also introduced a special version of ChatGPT for under-18 users. This version automatically redirects teenagers to safe, age-appropriate content and blocks sexual or graphic material. The company says this step ensures that ChatGPT remains a safe and educational tool for young people.
The decision comes after a tragic incident earlier this year when a California teenager named Adam Raine reportedly died by suicide. His parents filed a lawsuit in August claiming that ChatGPT gave him advice on how to take his life. The case drew national attention and raised serious questions about how AI tools can affect users’ mental health.
Following the lawsuit, OpenAI added new safety features and stricter rules to detect harmful conversations. Sam Altman later said the company had “been able to mitigate serious mental health issues” and wanted to make ChatGPT “useful and enjoyable again” for users who do not face mental health challenges.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also launched an investigation into several AI companies, including OpenAI, to study how chatbots may impact children and teens. OpenAI says it is fully cooperating with the inquiry and has added new layers of safety to prevent harmful interactions.
Along with these policy changes, OpenAI plans to release an updated version of ChatGPT that will let users customize their AI assistant’s personality. People will be able to choose how their chatbot talks whether it’s more professional, friendly, emoji-heavy, or more like a human companion.
The goal is to make ChatGPT more personal, natural, and enjoyable to use while keeping it safe. Altman said the company is working to “make ChatGPT feel more human without crossing ethical lines.”
These new features, combined with the adult content option, show OpenAI’s focus on creating a more flexible and user-driven experience. However, the company has not yet shared full details on how age verification or regional content rules will work.
OpenAI’s decision also increases competition with Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot, which markets itself as a more open and expressive AI model. Grok allows conversations that are less restricted and more humor-driven, something many users have asked OpenAI to offer as well.
In his statement, Altman said, “Given the seriousness of the issue, we wanted to get this right.” He explained that OpenAI had spent months testing tools that protect users’ mental health while allowing adults more freedom to express themselves. We want ChatGPT to be both safe and useful, and that means trusting adults to make their own choices while keeping minors protected.”
