ChatGPT enters the group chat globally

(Image credit: OpenAI)

OpenAI has released its new ChatGPT group chats globally
Group chats let up to twenty people collaborate with each other and the AI in the same conversation.
OpenAI wants people to use group chats with ChatGPT for planning and decision-making

ChatGPT is no longer a solo partner now that OpenAI has released the AI chatbot's new group chats feature globally. Up to twenty people can join ChatGPT and collaborate in the same conversation. It’s available now online and through the ChatGPT app for anyone following a limited pilot.

The launch introduces new behaviors, tools, and privacy rules that allow ChatGPT to sit inside a group conversation without taking over. The AI waits, observes, and jumps in only when the context calls for it or when someone explicitly tags it. Conversations remain separate from private chats, and personal memory never bleeds into group spaces.

And it has pretty good privacy settings. ChatGPT asks you to set a simple profile so you don’t appear as “Anonymous icon #6.” Everything in the group stays in the group. Your personal ChatGPT memory doesn’t surface, and nothing from the group becomes part of your memory later. Kids participating trigger additional safeguards automatically, tightening content filters for the entire chat. And the group creator remains the only one who can’t be removed unless they choose to leave.

For anyone who's been part of group texts, Slack channels, or other conglomerations for communication, a little skepticism is understandable. An AI's ability to encourage efficient decision-making and amicable resolutions to disagreements is itself debatable. A couple of experiments with ChatGPT as a de facto project manager showed that the AI could be useful in providing facts to support either side of a debate.

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In a discussion of the best breakfast restaurants in the area, ChatGPT jumped in when questions were raised, but otherwise was pretty quiet. It provided details but didn't do anything to contradict our opinions.

ChatGPT became much more talkative during a semi-simulated debate about which movie to watch on a rainy night. It offered genre suggestions and helped narrow it down based on what people said they wanted to watch.

It also handled a tangent about snacks to make and remembered what we were discussing about the movie when the conversation moved back to that. Normally, this sort of group decision involves too many opinions, too little agreement, and at least one person saying, “I don’t care, just pick something.” ChatGPT became a neutral third party.

Group AI chat

That said, the experience isn’t magic. Group chats rely heavily on humans knowing when to tag the AI and when to let the conversation flow. If two people start arguing about where to get dinner, ChatGPT won’t jump in unless someone brings it into the conversation. That restraint is intentional, and it keeps the experience from turning into “AI with spectators.”

ChatGPT can respond with emojis, reference profile pictures, and even generate personalized images that include group members if asked. It makes the AI feel more like a participant and less like a floating answer box. And because the system uses GPT-5.1 Auto, the model adapts to the group’s needs regarding the complexity of answers.

Using group chats doesn’t dramatically change what ChatGPT can do, but it could change how and when you use it. The AI’s presence gives the group a kind of built-in momentum. The first wave of AI assistants helped individuals work faster. The next wave, apparently, will help groups work together.

And in a world where planning anything with more than two people usually feels like herding cats through an obstacle course, adding a patient, well-informed assistant to the chat may be one of AI’s most genuinely useful steps yet.

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Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.

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