OpenAI has launched a group chat feature for ChatGPT, introducing new ways for teams and communities to work together with generative AI. Unlike previous individual user interactions, group chats now allow up to 20 participants to collaborate in real time with ChatGPT. This update may lead to expanding ChatGPT’s role beyond personal productivity, hinting at its potential impact on team projects, education, and coordinated creative efforts. The development arrives amid a fast-changing landscape, as organizations continue to adapt AI tools for professional and social communication.
Initial media coverage centered on OpenAI’s earlier pilot phase for group chat, with limited access and basic functions. Earlier reports highlighted user hopes for streamlined collaboration, but emphasized risks about privacy and confusion from overlapping inputs. With the public rollout, OpenAI seems to have addressed issues by adding user profiles, chat controls, and memory separation, features not previously available. Past commentary often questioned the practicality of integrating AI models like GPT-5.1 Auto into group discussions. The live deployment now gives a clearer picture of how teams might use ChatGPT alongside traditional collaborative platforms.
How Does ChatGPT Group Chat Function?
Group chats begin when a user selects the group icon within the ChatGPT app, replicating the current conversation into a new shared space. Participants are invited via shareable links, with the option to expand the group by re-sharing the link. On their first entry, users personalize their identity within the chat by setting a display name, username, and profile photo, clarifying who is speaking. The system offers settings for adding or removing members, muting notifications, and delivering unique instructions to ChatGPT, while maintaining privacy boundaries between group and individual chats. Messages from ChatGPT are generated through the GPT-5.1 Auto model, dynamically choosing the most relevant approach based on the group’s interactions.
What Benefits May Teams Experience from This Feature?
Teams using ChatGPT’s group chat can address several challenges common in collaborative work. The shared space helps centralize brainstorming and project discussions, making it easier for latecomers to catch up or for everyone to contribute without switching platforms. ChatGPT’s role in the conversation shifts depending on the group’s flow—it may summarize discussions, suggest structured action points, or answer questions when directly mentioned. OpenAI describes this as an asset for both informal planning and professional coordination, such as,
“People can use ChatGPT group chats for anything from daily planning with friends to early project ideation within teams.”
Teams can also speed up review cycles by directly refining drafts or clarifying feedback using ChatGPT in the shared thread.
How Does OpenAI Address Privacy and Practical Use?
OpenAI has stated that memories from private, one-on-one chats do not carry over into group settings, and new memories are not created from group activities. This addresses user concerns about data overlap and privacy. Users manage participation and notifications through a control panel within each group chat, and ChatGPT’s engagement in conversations depends on specific prompts or direct mentions. Workflows are further supported by integrated reactions and profile-image personalization, as highlighted by OpenAI:
“ChatGPT’s intelligence is designed to adapt, knowing when to respond or remain silent,”
distinguishing the model’s role from human participants. The rollout follows related launches, such as Sora for video creation and updates to GPT-5.1 Instant and Thinking models.
The group chat enhancement arrives as businesses and educational institutions increasingly turn to AI to simplify complex coordination and information sharing. While group chats are not guaranteed to eliminate difficulties in human collaboration, they provide a single platform to facilitate real-time dialogue and use AI as a resource. Experts note that ChatGPT may become especially useful when absorbing feedback, onboarding new team members, or organizing multi-step projects, since the model can synthesize and clarify ongoing inputs.
OpenAI’s move to enable group dynamics within ChatGPT situates the platform amongst more established teamwork tools, adding new AI-driven functions without replacing core communication. Compared to earlier experimentation phases, the current version focuses on giving users clear options for adding, instructing, or limiting AI participation within groups—choices that may appeal to a range of organizations. For readers interested in adopting similar tools, several technical factors matter: privacy management is crucial, as is group control over AI engagement. While this does not address all collaborative challenges, the inclusion of group chats with customizable settings is likely to encourage experimentation among diverse user communities and workplaces seeking to streamline discussions and information tracking.
