ChatGPT Group Chats Are Here, But Do We Need Another Place to Message?

OpenAI is rolling out group chats inside ChatGPT globally, letting up to 20 people join a shared conversation with the AI. The feature works by tapping the people icon to create a new group chat copied from an existing one. Users can invite others via a shareable link, and to join, they are asked to provide a name, username, and a photo to make the group chat identities clearer.

This arrives at a time when many apps are suddenly trying to become messaging platforms. Spotify recently did something similar, raising a question about whether users really want more places to chat with others.

OpenAI claims that ChatGPT will go with the flow, chiming in only when helpful and staying quiet when it is not needed. In the chat, there are features like emoji reactions, user profile photos for customized outputs, and the option that makes ChatGPT give a response. The ChatGPT in groups is powered by GPT-5.1 Auto, which chooses the model depending on the prompt. While the assistant aims to blend into a multi-person chat, it’s unclear how natural or seamless it will feel compared to an actual group conversation.

As for settings, you can remove members from the group chat, mute notifications, and give custom instructions to ChatGPT. OpenAI says that ChatGPT will not use personal memories in group chats or create new memories based on activity in the chat, so that is good. These expansions reflect a much broader push by other companies to turn their apps into multi-use communications platforms, even if not every user asked for this.

Do you actually see yourself using an AI inside a group chat? Why or why not? Do you think that too many apps are adding texting features, or do you like that they are? Do you think ChatGPT would be acutely useful in group planning? Let us know in the comments!

Source: The Verge Images: ChatGPT