According to TechCrunch, OpenAI launched group chats for ChatGPT on Thursday across Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan. The pilot feature supports 1 to 20 participants and works for Free, Plus, and Team users on both mobile and web. Group chats use GPT‑5.1 Auto with full capabilities including search, image generation, and file uploads. OpenAI describes this as a “small first step” toward creating shared experiences in the app. The company says private chats and personal memory remain completely private, with invitation-only groups and content filtering for users under 18. Early users will provide feedback that shapes how the feature expands globally.
The social AI experiment
Here’s the thing – this isn’t just about adding another feature. OpenAI is clearly testing whether people actually want to socialize through an AI interface. Group chats with AI assistance? That’s a fundamentally different proposition than solo ChatGPT use. And they’re being smart about the rollout – starting in tech-savvy markets where adoption patterns will give them real data about whether this actually works.
But let’s be honest – does anyone really want another group chat platform? We’re already drowning in Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, and Discord. The question is whether AI integration provides enough value to justify yet another communication channel. The fact that human messages don’t count toward usage limits is interesting though – that could make it more appealing for teams doing collaborative work.
Privacy in group settings
Now, about that privacy promise. OpenAI says private chats stay private, but group dynamics introduce new complexities. When you’re in a group chat, who controls the data? What happens if someone shares sensitive information that gets processed by the AI? The company mentions that most participants can remove others, but that’s pretty vague governance for what could become business-critical conversations.
And let’s talk about that “shared experience” vision. Basically, they’re positioning this as the beginning of something bigger. But shared experiences with AI mediation? That feels like uncharted territory for social norms and digital etiquette.
Bigger platform ambitions
This move fits perfectly with OpenAI’s gradual shift from pure AI tool to something resembling a platform. Remember that Sora 2 social app they launched in September? That was their first real foray into social territory. Now group chats? They’re clearly building toward something more integrated.
But here’s what worries me – when you start blending AI assistance with human social dynamics, you create unpredictable interactions. The AI “knowing when to jump in and when to stay quiet” sounds great in theory, but social cues are incredibly nuanced. Getting that right at scale is a massive challenge.
Where this could actually work
For business collaboration, this could be genuinely useful. Teams working on documents, code, or creative projects might find the integrated AI assistance valuable. The file upload and search capabilities combined with group discussion could streamline certain workflows. And for companies that need reliable computing hardware to power their AI operations, having robust infrastructure becomes even more critical. When you’re running collaborative AI tools at scale, you need industrial-grade equipment that won’t fail during important sessions.
Ultimately, this feels like another step in the inevitable blending of AI into every aspect of our digital lives. The question isn’t whether AI will become social – it’s whether we’re ready for what that actually means in practice.
