OpenAI Expands ChatGPT Group Chat Functionality Globally

After testing ChatGPT's group chats in select markets, OpenAI decided to roll out group chat functionality on ChatGPT globally. With that, users can bring family members, friends, and co-workers into chats with AI. While the feature was previously available only in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan, the company says the feature is expanding globally in the coming days. More importantly, this rollout is not only coming to users worldwide, but it's also available for users on the free tier, which means everybody can take advantage of the feature.

OpenAI touts this feature as a must-have, whether you're organizing a group dinner or drafting a project outline with coworkers, because group chats work separately from users' private conversations, and nobody's personal ChatGPT history is shared with others in the chat. OpenAI also says this is a great way to brainstorm together with more people for a weekend trip or even something as simple as a surprise birthday party.

Once the feature is available, you can start a group chat by tapping the People icon in the top right corner of any new or existing chat. When you add someone to the chat, ChatGPT creates a copy of your conversation as a new group chat, so your existing chats remain private. Users can invite others by sharing a link with up to twenty people. When you join or create your first group chat, ChatGPT will ask you to set up a short profile with your name, username, and photo. OpenAI says these group chats are powered by GPT-5.1 Auto, which means it chooses the best model depending on the prompt and the user's subscription tier.

Within group chats, users can query ChatGPT via text, images, and file uploads, and also take advantage of features like image generation and dictation. OpenAI says that rate limits only apply to ChatGPT responses and not to messages between users. The company says it has trained ChatGPT with new social behaviors, so it follows the flow of the conversation and knows when to stay quiet and when to chime in. More importantly, users can always mention ChatGPT when they need its help. Finally, OpenAI also gave ChatGPT the ability to react to messages and reference profile photos.