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OpenAI expanded ChatGPT group chats to all logged-in Free, Go, Plus and Pro users worldwide in November 2025. The feature let people collaborate with ChatGPT in a shared conversation, but it is no longer open to new groups: OpenAI stopped new creation, conversion and invite-link joining on July 9, 2026. Existing groups can remain usable temporarily before becoming read-only, while their history stays available.

What ChatGPT group chat offered

OpenAI announced a group-chat pilot on November 13, 2025, initially for logged-in users in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan. Its November 20 update said the rollout was expanding globally over the coming days to logged-in users on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans. The feature worked on mobile and web. OpenAI’s announcement described a shared conversation in which people could talk with one another and ChatGPT.

When a user started a group from an existing conversation, ChatGPT made a copy; the original one-to-one conversation remained separate. A group could be shared through an invite link and include one to twenty people, according to the launch announcement. Participants could name the group, set short profiles, manage participants, mute notifications and provide group-specific instructions for ChatGPT.

Tools and how ChatGPT responded

At launch, group chats supported search, image and file uploads, image generation and dictation. ChatGPT was designed to follow the discussion and decide when a response would help; participants could also mention “ChatGPT” to prompt it directly. OpenAI said responses used GPT-5.1 Auto, which selected a model based on the prompt and the responding user’s plan. That is launch-era information, not a statement about the model currently in use.

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Rate limits applied to ChatGPT’s responses, not to messages exchanged between people. A response counted against the limit of the person ChatGPT was responding to.

Privacy and participant controls at launch

OpenAI said a group chat was separate from private conversations: personal memory was neither shared nor used, and ChatGPT did not create new memories from group chats. Joining required accepting an invitation. Participants could see who was in the group, leave it, and manage participants; the group creator could not be removed by another participant.

OpenAI also said that if someone under 18 used a group chat, sensitive-content exposure was automatically reduced for everyone in that chat. A parent or guardian could turn that feature off through parental controls.

Are ChatGPT group chats still available?

No new group chats can be created, existing conversations cannot be converted into groups, and people cannot join through invite links. OpenAI says those restrictions began July 9, 2026, across web, iOS and Android. Old invite links do not provide a way to join. See the Help Center retirement notice and ChatGPT release notes.

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Groups created before the change may remain usable during a transition. The timing can vary by chat. Once a group becomes read-only, participants can review its existing messages, files and images but cannot send new messages or add participants. Individual ChatGPT conversations are unaffected.

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What happens to existing group-chat history?

OpenAI says no action is required to preserve group-chat history. If you want a separate copy, request an export through ChatGPT or OpenAI’s Privacy Portal. When a group becomes read-only, its previously shared content remains available to review.

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