OpenAI launches group chats in ChatGPT to make AI collaboration easier
OpenAI has rolled out group chats in ChatGPT, letting people collaborate with one another—and with the assistant—in a single thread, with privacy controls and GPT‑5.1 Auto under the hood.
OpenAI has added group chats to ChatGPT, enabling people to collaborate with one another—and with the assistant—in a single conversation across web and mobile.
The feature began as a pilot on 13 November 2025 and, following early feedback, has expanded to all logged‑in users on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans globally from 20 November 2025.
Group chats brings friends, families and co‑workers into a shared ChatGPT thread to plan events, compare options and co‑author drafts while the assistant helps search, summarise and generate content in context.
OpenAI said ChatGPT now exhibits new “social” behaviours in groups, deciding when to speak and when to stay quiet, and can be explicitly mentioned when input is needed.
Users can start a group from any chat by tapping the people icon; adding participants to an existing 1:1 conversation creates a separate copy so private threads remain unchanged.
Invite links allow others to join, and a short profile (name, username and photo) helps members recognise who is who. Group chats sit in a clearly labelled sidebar section for quick access.
Models, tools and limits
Responses in group chats are powered by GPT‑5.1 Auto, which selects an appropriate model based on the prompt and the responder’s plan.
Search, image creation, image and file uploads, and dictation are enabled at launch. Some features, such as Canvas, full voice mode, Python/Data Analysis and Deep Research, are not yet supported within group chats, though they remain available elsewhere in ChatGPT depending on plan.
OpenAI added that group chats are separate from users’ private conversations: personal account‑level memory is not shared, and ChatGPT does not create new memories from group discussions.
Participants can manage membership, rename groups, mute notifications and set group‑specific custom instructions. Additional guardrails apply when a minor is present, and parents or guardians can disable group chat entirely via parental controls.
The feature initially piloted in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan before being expanded globally to all logged‑in users.