Last week, OpenAI -- always looking for opportunities to put its chatbot into new spaces -- introduced Group Chats with ChatGPT baked right in. Based on early feedback, it's now expanding the feature to all logged-in users on ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans globally over the coming days.
The feature is pitched as a new way to use ChatGPT with other people, especially in collaboration efforts, like planning a big event.
Up to 20 people can be added to a group chat, and messages between individuals don't count against the rate limit to ChatGPT -- only when it responds.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Group chats use ChatGPT-5.1 Auto. OpenAI has also introduced some new implementations of how and when the chatbot responds. It's been taught new social behaviors for group chats and will apparently follow the flow of the conversation and stay quiet or chime in based on what's being said.
Adding "ChatGPT" to a message you send will always yield a response from the AI chatbot. You can also provide custom instructions to ChatGPT for the entire chat if you want it to reply in a certain tone or personality, and it can react to messages with emoji.
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Group Chats don't use memory from your existing personal chats, and new memory isn't created from group conversations, though OpenAI says it's exploring a way for you to opt in to use existing memory in the future.
If you're concerned that you'll be thrown into a dozen chats without your permission, then you'll likely be happy to hear that you must accept an invitation before you can be added to a group chat with ChatGPT. Additional safeguards are also in place for users under the age of 18, which will reduce sensitive content to all within the group chat.
OpenAI says Group Chats are the beginning of its effort to make ChatGPT more of a shared and collaborative space for people.