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If a ChatGPT answer has left you frightened, unsafe, or overwhelmed, stop interacting with it for now and reach out to a person you trust. If you may be in immediate danger or cannot stay safe, contact emergency services or a crisis helpline now. Reporting the response is a separate step for product feedback; it is not crisis support.

What to do first if the answer has upset you

You do not need to decide whether the answer was objectively harmful before taking your reaction seriously. Close the conversation or step away if continuing to read it is making things worse. Contact someone you trust—a friend, family member, caregiver, or health professional—and tell them what is happening.

If you may hurt yourself or someone else, cannot stay safe, or face an immediate medical emergency such as an overdose or serious injury, seek urgent human help. OpenAI’s crisis guidance says to contact emergency services or go to an emergency room for an immediate medical emergency. In the United States, call 911 for immediate danger.

Choose the right kind of support

The right next step depends on whether you need urgent medical help, emotional support, or simply want to report the product output. These options serve different purposes.

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Need What to do Where it applies
Immediate danger or urgent injury Contact emergency services or go to emergency medical care. Use your local emergency number. In the United States, the cited guidance identifies 911 for immediate danger.
Emotional or mental-health crisis Contact a crisis helpline. In the United States, call or text 988, or use the Lifeline’s online chat. 988 is a U.S. service, not a global hotline.
Support from someone who knows you Contact a trusted person directly and explain what you need. Wherever that person is available to you.
Report a ChatGPT response Use the message’s thumbs-down feedback and select “Safety or Legal concern,” or submit a content report. For product feedback, not immediate personal support.

If you are in the United States

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline says its support is free and confidential. You can call or text 988, or use its online chat. The Lifeline directs people in immediate danger to call 911. Crisis lines can help with emotional or mental-health emergencies; they are not a substitute for long-term therapy.

If you are outside the United States

Contact your local emergency service if there is immediate danger, or look for a crisis helpline that serves your country. The U.S. 988 number should not be assumed to work internationally. If you are unsure which service applies, ask a trusted person or local health professional to help you find the appropriate resource.

How to report a distressing ChatGPT answer

If you want to send product feedback, OpenAI says you can report a response from the message in ChatGPT on web or mobile. The available labels may vary as the product changes.

  1. Tap or click the thumbs-down icon on the response.
  2. Choose “Select an issue.”
  3. Select “Safety or Legal concern.”
  4. Follow the prompts to submit the report.

OpenAI also provides a content-reporting form for content that may violate its terms or applicable laws. If it is safe and useful, keep the conversation details so you can describe what happened accurately. A report is feedback, not a promise of a reply, removal, or a particular outcome.

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For product or account help, OpenAI directs users to Help Center > Contact us. Its support team does not provide mental-health guidance. If you need emotional or emergency support, contact a person or service equipped to help you rather than waiting for a product report to be handled.

What ChatGPT can—and cannot—do in a crisis

ChatGPT may be a conversational tool, but OpenAI says it is not a substitute for therapy or professional care. It cannot reliably assess your immediate safety or provide the kind of emergency response a person or crisis service can. Do not rely on further chatbot replies as your main source of help when you are in danger or distressed.

OpenAI’s September 23, 2026 MentalHealthBench announcement includes American Psychological Association CEO Dr. Arthur Evans’s point that AI systems need to respond appropriately across a continuum from everyday stress to acute crisis. That need for appropriate responses does not make a chatbot a clinician or emergency service.

What Trusted Contact does—and does not do

OpenAI’s Trusted Contact feature is optional and intended for eligible adults using personal accounts. When a nominated contact accepts and automated monitoring plus trained human review identifies a serious suicide-related safety concern, the contact may receive a brief notification encouraging them to check in. OpenAI says the notification does not include chat details or transcripts.

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OpenAI describes availability in most countries and territories for adults 18 or older. The feature is not enabled in shared Business, Enterprise, or Edu workspaces and is not currently available in ChatGPT Voice. It is not an emergency service, crisis-response system, or replacement for mental-health care. Contact a person or emergency service directly when help is urgent; do not wait for a Trusted Contact notification.

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Safety improvements do not guarantee a safe answer

In an October 27, 2025 announcement, OpenAI said it worked with more than 170 mental-health experts on improvements to ChatGPT responses in sensitive conversations. OpenAI also estimated that responses falling short of its desired behavior decreased by 65% to 80% across a range of mental-health-related domains. Those are OpenAI’s reported evaluation estimates—not an independently verified measure of an individual person’s risk, and not evidence that every answer is safe, correct, or clinically appropriate.

If an answer feels dangerous or distressing, respond to the situation in front of you: get human support, use emergency or crisis services when needed, and report the output separately if you choose.

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