Image Courtesy: OpenAI

OpenAI has begun testing a new group chat experience in ChatGPT, giving users the ability to collaborate with friends, family, classmates, and coworkers directly inside a shared ChatGPT conversation. The pilot is rolling out now to logged-in users—Free, Go, Plus, and Pro—in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan.

A New Way to Collaborate

With group chats, multiple people can join the same conversation and work together while ChatGPT assists. Planning a meetup, debating restaurant options, building an itinerary, comparing styles for a home project, or drafting school or work materials can now happen in one shared space where everyone—and ChatGPT—can contribute.

Image Courtesy: OpenAI

Group chats are fully separate from users’ private conversations. Importantly, ChatGPT memory does not carry over and nothing shared in group chats is added to personal memory.

How Group Chats Work

Starting or joining a group chat is simple:

• Tap the people icon in the top-right corner of any conversation.

• Add participants directly or share an invite link (supports 1–20 people).

• When someone is added to an existing chat, ChatGPT automatically creates a new copy so the original 1:1 conversation stays isolated.

• On first use, participants set up a short profile (name, username, photo).

• Group chats are stored in a dedicated sidebar section.

Inside the chat, ChatGPT behaves more socially aware—it chooses when to speak and when to stay quiet unless @mentioned. It can react with emojis and even use member profile photos for fun personalized images.

All core capabilities remain available, including search, image generation, file uploads, and dictation. ChatGPT’s responses are powered by GPT-5.1 Auto, which selects the best model available based on each participant’s plan.

Image Courtesy: OpenAI

Fine-Tuned Group Controls

Users can:

• Name the group

• Add or remove members

• Mute notifications

• Set custom instructions specific to that group chat

These options let users tune ChatGPT’s behavior for collaborative research, fast decision-making, or more casual planning among friends.

Privacy First

OpenAI emphasizes that group chats are designed with privacy in mind. Private conversation memory isn’t used, saved, or shared. Future versions may include more granular controls, letting participants decide how memory interacts with group environments.

A First Step Toward Shared AI Experiences

This pilot lays the groundwork for more connected, collaborative uses of ChatGPT—especially for distributed teams, classrooms, and friend groups who already rely on the tool individually.

If expanded globally, group chats could become one of ChatGPT’s most practical and widely used features yet.