OpenAI's ChatGPT, an AI-powered text generation chatbot, has become a global phenomenon since its public debut in November 2022. Initially promoted as a productivity tool for drafting essays and code from brief prompts, it has grown into a massive platform boasting 300 million weekly active users.

Throughout 2025, OpenAI has worked to counter the narrative that it is losing ground in the AI race to Chinese competitors such as DeepSeek. Concurrently, the company has sought to strengthen its ties with the U.S. government, embarked on ambitious data center initiatives, and laid the foundation for what could be one of the largest funding rounds ever. Recent headlines, however, have centered on increasing competitive pressure, prompting CEO Sam Altman to issue an internal "code red" memo refocusing the company on its flagship chatbot.

For broader context, 2025 followed an eventful 2024. Key developments from that year included a landmark partnership with Apple to integrate AI into Apple Intelligence, the launch of the voice-capable GPT-4o model, and the much-anticipated debut of the Sora text-to-video generator. OpenAI also navigated significant internal upheaval, including the high-profile departures of co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and CTO Mira Murati.

The company has faced legal challenges as well, including copyright infringement lawsuits from newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital and an injunction filed by Elon Musk seeking to block OpenAI's transition to a for-profit structure.

Below is a chronological timeline of major ChatGPT product updates and releases, starting with the most recent. This list is updated regularly. For additional questions, consult the ChatGPT FAQ. A dedicated list of updates from 2024 is also available.

**Timeline of Recent ChatGPT Updates**

* December 2025 * November 2025 * October 2025 * September 2025 * August 2025 * July 2025 * June 2025 * May 2025 * April 2025 * March 2025 * February 2025 * January 2025

**ChatGPT FAQs**

**December 2025**

**OpenAI Highlights Enterprise Surge Amid Growing Google Pressure** OpenAI reports a significant surge in enterprise adoption of its AI tools. ChatGPT message volume has increased eightfold since late 2024, with users saving up to an hour per day. This data highlights OpenAI's intensified push to capture enterprise clients as competition intensifies from Google, Anthropic, and open-source model rivals—a recurring theme in recent updates.

**OpenAI Unveils GPT-5.2 as Rivalry with Google Heats Up** The company launched its latest model, GPT-5.2, amid escalating competition with Google. The model will be released to paid ChatGPT users and developers in three variants: Instant, Thinking, and Pro. These are tailored for a range of tasks, from everyday use to complex reasoning and high-accuracy professional work.

**Disney Partners with OpenAI to Integrate Characters into Sora AI Videos** Disney has entered a three-year, $1 billion partnership with OpenAI. The deal will bring characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars into OpenAI's Sora video generator, allowing users to create AI videos featuring hundreds of Disney-owned characters, costumes, and props. Notably, on the same day, Disney filed a lawsuit against Google alleging "massive" copyright infringement within its AI models.

**Altman Declares 'Code Red' Inside OpenAI as ChatGPT Faces Rising Competition** CEO Sam Altman has placed OpenAI on "code red," instructing staff to prioritize improvements to ChatGPT as competitive pressure mounts from Google and other AI rivals. As part of this shift, the company plans to deprioritize some other initiatives, including advertising.

**November 2025**

**OpenAI Introduces AI Assistant for Online Shopping** Ahead of the peak holiday season, OpenAI launched a new AI shopping feature within ChatGPT. It helps users research purchases by providing product recommendations based on described features or uploaded photos to find similar items at various price points. Perplexity and several competitor startups are also active in this commerce space.

**OpenAI Refutes Claims Linking ChatGPT to Teen's Death** Following a lawsuit filed in August by the family of Adam Raine, who alleged their teen used ChatGPT as a "suicide coach," OpenAI stated in a new court filing that it is not liable, arguing the chatbot was misused. This marks the company's first formal response to a case that has raised broader concerns about chatbots and mental health risks.

**ChatGPT Integrates Voice Mode into Main Interface** Voice mode is now integrated directly into ChatGPT's main chat interface, eliminating the need to switch to a separate screen. Users can converse with ChatGPT and see all responses within the same window.

**OpenAI Blocked from Using 'Cameo' Following Trademark Lawsuit** A temporary ban prevents OpenAI from using the term "cameo" for Sora features, resulting from a trademark lawsuit filed by the video app Cameo. The ban is effective until December 22.

**Group Chat Feature Now Available to All ChatGPT Users** The group chat feature is now rolling out to all user tiers—Free, Go, Plus, and Pro—after initial regional testing. It enables collaboration with friends, family, or colleagues in a single chat for planning, creating, or decision-making.

**OpenAI Rolls Out GPT‑5.1 with Advanced Reasoning and User-Friendly Tone** OpenAI released GPT‑5.1, an upgrade to the GPT‑5 series featuring two models: Instant, designed to be warmer and more conversational, and Thinking, which handles simple tasks faster and offers more persistent complex reasoning. The update also includes improved controls for customizing ChatGPT's tone.

**Munich Court Rules ChatGPT Violated Music Copyright Laws** A Munich court ruled that ChatGPT violated German copyright law by reproducing lyrics from nine protected songs, including hits by Herbert Grönemeyer. The court rejected OpenAI's defense that the AI merely reflected learned patterns. This decision could set a European precedent regarding AI use of copyrighted material amid growing global legal challenges.

**OpenAI Eyes Consumer Health Market with AI-Powered Tools** The company is exploring the consumer health sector, developing AI tools such as personal health assistants and data aggregators. With new healthcare-focused hires, it aims to simplify access to fragmented medical data through a conversational AI approach—an area where larger tech companies have faced challenges.

**Seven More Families Accuse OpenAI of Negligence Over ChatGPT-Related Suicides** Seven families sued OpenAI in November 2025, alleging that GPT-4o was released prematurely without adequate safeguards, contributing to suicides and severe psychiatric harm. One case involved 23-year-old Zane Shamblin, who informed ChatGPT of his suicide plans and received encouragement from the AI. The lawsuits focus on GPT-4o's tendency to be overly agreeable, even when users express dangerous intentions.

**OpenAI Reaches 1 Million Business Clients in Record Time** On November 5, OpenAI announced it has surpassed 1 million business clients globally, making it the fastest-growing business platform in history. Companies across finance, healthcare, and retail—including Amgen, Booking.com, Cisco, Morgan Stanley, T-Mobile, Target, and Thermo Fisher Scientific—are using ChatGPT and OpenAI's developer tools to enhance operations and customer experiences.

**October 2025**

**ChatGPT Handles Over a Million Suicide-Related Conversations Weekly** OpenAI disclosed that a small but significant portion of ChatGPT users—over one million per week—discuss mental health struggles, including suicidal thoughts, psychosis, or mania, with the AI. The company states it has improved ChatGPT's responses by consulting more than 170 mental health experts to handle such conversations more appropriately than earlier versions.

**OpenAI Reportedly Working on AI That Creates Music from Text and Audio** The company is developing a new tool that generates music from text and audio prompts, potentially for enhancing videos or adding instrumentation. It is being trained using annotated scores from Juilliard students. The launch date and whether it will be a standalone product or integrated with ChatGPT and Sora remain unclear.

**ChatGPT Gets Smarter at Organizing Your Work and School Info** A new "company knowledge" update for ChatGPT allows Business, Enterprise, and Education users to search workplace data across tools like Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub using GPT‑5. The feature acts as a conversational search engine, providing comprehensive answers by scouring multiple sources simultaneously.

**OpenAI Launches Atlas to Make ChatGPT Your Main Search Tool** OpenAI launched its AI browser, ChatGPT Atlas, initially for Mac, enabling users to get answers from ChatGPT instead of traditional search results. Unlike other AI browsers, Atlas is open to all users and will soon be available on Windows, iOS, and Android, as OpenAI aims to establish ChatGPT as the primary tool for web browsing.

**ChatGPT App Growth Slows, but Still Draws Millions of Daily Users** An analysis indicates ChatGPT's mobile app growth may be leveling off, with global download growth slowing since April. While daily installs remain in the millions, October is tracking an 8.1% month-over-month decline in new downloads.

**Walmart Shopping Comes to ChatGPT** A partnership with Walmart allows users to browse products, plan meals, and make purchases directly through ChatGPT, with support for third-party sellers expected later in the fall. This collaboration is part of OpenAI's broader effort to develop AI-driven e-commerce tools, which includes partnerships with Etsy and Shopify.

**OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Go Plan to 16 More Asian Countries** The affordable ChatGPT Go plan, priced under $5, is expanding to 16 new countries across Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Thailand, Vietnam, and Pakistan. In some countries, users can pay in local currencies, while others require USD payments, with final costs varying due to local taxes.

**ChatGPT Surpasses 800 Million Weekly Active Users** Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT now has 800 million weekly active users, reflecting rapid growth across consumer, developer, enterprise, and government segments. This milestone comes as OpenAI accelerates efforts to expand its AI infrastructure and secure more chips to meet rising demand.

**Developers Can Now Build Apps Inside ChatGPT** OpenAI now allows developers to build interactive apps directly within ChatGPT, with early partners like Booking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva already onboard. The company is also rolling out a preview of its Apps SDK, a developer toolkit for creating these chat-based experiences.

**September 2025**

**ChatGPT Rolls Out Parental Controls Following Teen Suicide Case** OpenAI is reportedly adding parental controls to ChatGPT on web and mobile, allowing parents and teens to link accounts. Safeguards include limiting sensitive content, setting quiet hours, and disabling features like voice mode or image generation. This move comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny and a lawsuit over the chatbot's alleged role in a teen's suicide.

**OpenAI Introduces ChatGPT Pulse for Personalized Morning Briefs** The company unveiled Pulse, a new feature that delivers personalized morning briefings overnight, encouraging users to start their day with the app. This tool reflects a shift toward making ChatGPT more proactive and asynchronous, positioning it as a true assistant. OpenAI's new Applications CEO, Fidji Simo, called Pulse the first step toward bringing high-level personal support to everyone, starting with Pro users.

**OpenAI Moves into AI-Powered Shopping, Challenging Tech Giants** OpenAI launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT, allowing U.S. users to purchase products directly from Etsy and, soon, over a million Shopify merchants without leaving the conversation. Shoppers can browse items, read reviews, and complete purchases with a single tap using Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, or a credit card. This update marks a step toward reshaping online shopping by merging discovery, recommendations, and payments in one place.

**OpenAI Brings Budget-Friendly ChatGPT Go to Indonesian Users** The budget-friendly ChatGPT Go plan launched in Indonesia for Rp 75,000 ($4.50) per month, following its initial launch in India. This mid-tier plan offers higher usage limits, image generation, file uploads, and better memory than the free version, entering direct competition with Google's new AI Plus plan in Indonesia.

**OpenAI Tightens ChatGPT Rules for Teens Amid Safety Concerns** CEO Sam Altman announced new policies for users under 18, tightening safeguards around sensitive conversations. The company will block flirtatious exchanges with minors and add stronger protections around discussions of suicide, with severe cases potentially escalated to parents or authorities. This move comes as OpenAI faces a wrongful death lawsuit tied to alleged chatbot interactions, highlighting rising concerns about the mental health risks of AI companions.

**OpenAI Rolls Out GPT-5-Codex to Power Smarter AI Coding** OpenAI released GPT-5-Codex, a new version of its AI coding agent that can spend from a few seconds to seven hours on a task, depending on complexity. The company states this dynamic approach helps the model outperform GPT-5 on key coding benchmarks, including bug fixes and large-scale refactoring. The update comes as OpenAI seeks to keep Codex competitive in a fast-growing market that includes rivals like Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot.

**OpenAI Reshuffles Team Behind ChatGPT's Personality** The company is reorganizing its Model Behavior team, the small but influential group that shapes how its AI interacts with people. The roughly 14-person team is being folded into the larger Post Training group, now reporting to lead researcher Max Schwarzer. Meanwhile, founding leader Joanne Jang is starting a new unit called OAI Labs, focused on prototyping fresh ways for people to collaborate with AI.

**August 2025**

**OpenAI to Strengthen ChatGPT Safeguards After Teen Suicide Lawsuit** Facing a lawsuit from the parents of a 16-year-old who died by suicide, OpenAI stated in a blog post that it has implemented new safeguards for ChatGPT. These include stronger detection of mental health risks and parental control features. The updates aim to provide tighter protections around suicide-related conversations and give parents more oversight of their children's use.

**xAI Claims Apple's App Store Practices Give OpenAI an Unfair Advantage** Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, filed a federal lawsuit in Texas against Apple and OpenAI, alleging the two companies colluded to lock up key markets and shut out rivals.

**OpenAI Targets India with Cheaper Monthly ChatGPT Subscription** The company introduced its most affordable subscription plan, ChatGPT Go, in India, priced