CALIFORNIA: OpenAI reportedly confirmed to The Information that time spent in ChatGPT has declined somewhat after the company implemented content restrictions in August, including parental controls and restrictions that make it more difficult for teenagers to discuss suicide or access adult content within the chatbot.
Age Verification
OpenAI will soon provide age verification software for ChatGPT, after which a wide range of subjects, including adult ones like writing erotica, could be discussed by verified users.
Before the content restrictions, it had been reported that some adult users had developed romantic interactions with the AI, even knowing it wasn’t a real person.
The report from The Information does confirm comments made by CEO Sam Altman, who said last month that age verification features are expected to arrive in December, although details on how verification will work remain unclear. It may be voluntary rather than automated, but OpenAI has not commented on that.
Other companies, such as Google, have introduced similar age verification systems across YouTube and Google accounts to protect minors.
The report indicates that adding more access to content could help in retaining users and supporting growth. In July, 35 million subscribers had signed up for ChatGPT Plus at $20 a month and Pro at $200 a month, which accounts for 5 percent of the user base. OpenAI is targeting increasing this figure to 8.6 percent by 2030, assuming 220 million paid users out of an estimated 2.6 billion weekly active users.
Even without a premium, ChatGPT offers a range of capabilities. Free users can access the latest models, perform web searches, generate images, and create custom chatbots.
Premium subscribers benefit from higher usage limits, access to more models, and advanced features. Despite the limitations it has now, ChatGPT remains an influential channel for research, coding, and work tasks. Launch Timeline and Holiday Plans OpenAI hasn’t shared full details of the age verification rollout, but the December estimate may coincide with the company’s planned Christmas announcements.
Last year, OpenAI hosted a “12 Days of OpenAI” event that showcased new AI features daily, leading up to Christmas, and such a multi-day announcement is possible this year as well.
