OpenAI to Allow Erotica on ChatGPT for Verified Adults, Citing ‘Treat Adult Users Like Adults’ Principle

San Francisco — OpenAI, the company behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT, is set to significantly relax its content restrictions, including allowing erotica for verified adult users starting in December 2025. CEO Sam Altman announced the move in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, framing it as part of a new policy to “treat adult users like adults.”

The decision marks a major shift for the company, which previously maintained strict controls over explicit content, and is seen by some as a response to rival platforms, such as Elon Musk’s xAI, which recently introduced sexually explicit chatbots to Grok.

The upcoming change is contingent on the full rollout of an age-gating system in December, which Altman says will allow the company to safely loosen restrictions for adult users without mental health issues.

Altman acknowledged that ChatGPT was previously made “pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues.” This caution, he said, made the chatbot “less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems.”

He stated that the company has now developed new tools to “mitigate the serious mental health risks,” allowing them to “safely relax the restrictions in most cases.” The new version is also expected to offer a more human-like, customizable personality, “but only if you want it,” Altman clarified.

The controversial policy change comes as the company faces its first major legal challenge over user safety. Earlier this year, OpenAI was sued for wrongful death by the parents of a 16-year-old US teen, Adam Raine, who took his own life in April. The lawsuit alleges that the company’s parental controls were insufficient and that chat logs show Adam Raine discussing his suicidal thoughts with ChatGPT.

Critics immediately questioned the safety of introducing adult content, especially in light of the lawsuit. “How are they going to make sure that children are not able to access the portions of ChatGPT that are adult-only and provide erotica?” asked Jenny Kim, a law partner involved in a separate lawsuit against Meta regarding teen mental health. She added, “We don’t even know if their age gating is going to work.”

In April, a TechCrunch report highlighted a loophole in which accounts registered as a minor could generate graphic erotica, an issue OpenAI stated it was working to fix.

The move is also expected to intensify calls for tighter government regulation of AI companions.

A recent survey by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) found that one in five students report having a romantic relationship with an AI.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an inquiry into how AI chatbots interact with children.

In the US Senate, bipartisan legislation was introduced last month to classify AI chatbots as products, allowing users to file liability claims against developers.

California Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a bill that would have blocked developers from offering AI chatbot companions to children unless companies could guarantee the software wouldn’t breed harmful behaviour, stating it was “imperative that adolescents learn how to safely interact with AI systems.”

As OpenAI pushes for new features to attract more paying subscribers and secure its dominance in a competitive market, experts like Tulane University business professor Rob Lalka note the immense pressure for “exponential growth” in the AI sector. The introduction of adult content is a high-stakes gamble to maximize market share, balancing the demand for a more versatile chatbot against rising safety and regulatory concerns.