OpenAI Expands ChatGPT With Group Chat Feature, Allowing Up To 20 Users To Interact Simultaneously

In Brief

OpenAI just rolled out its group chat feature across all subscription tiers, allowing up to 20 users to simultaneously collaborate with each other and with ChatGPT in the same thread.

AI research organisation OpenAI announced that it has launched a group chat feature across all ChatGPT subscription tiers, allowing up to twenty users to collaborate together and interact with ChatGPT within the same conversation thread

This feature enables participants to plan activities, organize projects, or make group decisions while receiving real-time assistance from ChatGPT. Examples include coordinating travel plans, designing spaces, choosing art, or selecting dining options, as well as working on school or professional tasks by sharing articles, notes, and research while ChatGPT helps summarize and structure the information.

In order to create a group chat, users can tap the people icon in any chat. Adding someone to an existing conversation generates a new group thread, keeping the original conversation separate. Invitations can be shared via a link, which can be passed to additional participants, and new users are prompted to set up a profile including a name, username, and photo. Group chats are accessible from a dedicated section in the sidebar.

Group chats operate similarly to standard ChatGPT conversations, with responses powered by GPT‑5.1 Auto, which selects the most appropriate model based on the prompt and the user’s subscription tier. The feature supports search, image and file uploads, image generation, and dictation, with rate limits applying only to ChatGPT responses, not to messages exchanged between participants.

ChatGPT has been adapted to follow the flow of group conversations, responding selectively based on context. Users can mention ChatGPT to prompt a response, and it can react to messages with emojis or reference participants’ profile photos to generate personalized content. Group settings allow for naming the chat, adding or removing participants, muting notifications, and setting custom instructions to guide ChatGPT’s tone, style, or response behavior for each conversation.

ChatGPT’s Group Chat Controls To Enhance Collaboration And Safety

Group chats are distinct from individual conversations, and personal ChatGPT memory is not applied within these shared threads; ChatGPT also does not generate new memories from interactions in group chats. Future updates may include more detailed controls, allowing users to determine if and how memory is utilized in group conversations.

Participation in a group chat requires accepting an invitation, and all members can see who is part of the chat and leave at any time. Participants can remove others, though the group creator can only exit by leaving the chat themselves.

For users under 18, ChatGPT automatically limits exposure to sensitive content for everyone in the group, and guardians have the option to disable group chats entirely through parental controls.

Group chats are intended to serve as a collaborative space for sharing ideas, making decisions, and fostering creativity with others. As the feature is refined, OpenAI plans to use user feedback to enhance ChatGPT’s role as a collaborative partner in group settings.