OpenAI has confirmed a second delay for the rollout of ChatGPT’s “adult mode,” a feature that will provide verified users with less-restricted content.
“We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in October of 2025. “We realize this made it less useful / enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.”
Then he added: “In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our ‘treat adult users like adults’ principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.”
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In December, however, the feature’s release was postponed until the first quarter of 2026. The delay was caused by Altman’s push to focus on the core ChatGPT experience, as reported by TechCrunch.
Now, the “adult mode” is being delayed once again. “We’re pushing out the launch of adult mode so we can focus on work that is a higher priority for more users right now,” an OpenAI representative said in a statement to Axios.
This includes gains in intelligence, personality improvements, personalization, and “making the experience more proactive,” the statement said.
An OpenAI representative also told Axios that the company needs more time: “We still believe in the principle of treating adults like adults, but getting the experience right will take more time.”
According to new reporting by Fast Company, the correct functioning of adult mode depends on OpenAI’s age-prediction system. It works by evaluating a user’s prompts and generated media and then estimating their age. If the system detects that a user may be underage, it restricts romantic role-play and violent content. OpenAI reportedly said in January it had begun rolling out the technology globally within ChatGPT.
The paper also stated that OpenAI utilizes Persona, a third-party verification platform, which confirms a user’s age if the AI places them in the wrong category.
But accurate age prediction isn’t easy. “How, for instance, can an AI model distinguish between a 16-year-old in high school and a 19-year-old in college when the two talk to ChatGPT about similar things?” Fast Company’s report rightfully asks.
Complement with our article on how it feels to date an AI companion.
Editor’s Note: the article was updated with new information.
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