OpenAI has officially launched group chats on ChatGPT worldwide, expanding the feature to users across all plans — Free, Go, Plus, and Pro. The global release follows a limited pilot last week in regions including Japan and New Zealand.
The new feature transforms ChatGPT from a one-to-one AI assistant into a collaborative group workspace, allowing friends, families, classmates, or teams to chat together — with ChatGPT participating whenever needed.
What Group Chats Can Do
OpenAI says the update is designed to help people plan trips, co-write documents, compare ideas, settle debates, study, or brainstorm projects in a shared conversation. ChatGPT can jump in to summarize discussions, gather information, or analyze options — but only when tagged.
Up to 20 participants can join a single group chat, and each user’s personal settings and memory remain private. To start a group, users can tap the people icon, add participants directly, or share an invite link. Each participant creates a simple profile including a name, username, and photo.
Notably, adding new people to an existing chat creates a fresh conversation, ensuring the original chat stays intact.
How ChatGPT Interacts in a Group
ChatGPT can detect when to speak and when to stay silent, stepping in only when prompted. It can also react with emojis and refer to participant profile photos to personalize responses.
OpenAI says this launch is part of a broader effort to evolve ChatGPT into a collaborative platform, not just a personal chatbot.
“Over time, we see ChatGPT playing a more active role in real group conversations,” the company wrote in an email to TechCrunch.
Part of a Larger Expansion Push
The announcement comes shortly after OpenAI introduced GPT-5.1, featuring both Instant and Thinking modes, and a month after the company launched Sora, a social video-generation app with a TikTok-style feed.
With group chats now available globally, ChatGPT is taking a major step toward becoming a social, collaborative AI environment—and not just a solo tool.