In August, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on a podcast that he was “proud” that his company had not gotten “distracted” by putting features like a “sexbot avatar” into ChatGPT. But on Tuesday, he announced that adult users will be able to access explicit interactive experiences, marking a major shift in the company’s practices.

“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,” Altman said in a post on X. The chatbot, the CEO said, would allow ChatGPT to behave in a more “human-like way” or “act like a friend.”

There is clearly a large demand for AIs behaving in romantic or sexual ways. During the first half of 2025, AI companion mobile apps generated $82 million, a

See Full Page