Editorial illustration for ChatGPT Launches Group Chat Feature for Collaborative Planning
ChatGPT Group Chat Transforms Collaborative Planning
OpenAI adds group chat to ChatGPT for planning meals, trips and outlines
Group chats are where productivity dies. They're a graveyard of indecision, filled with endless polls about dinner and travel links that vanish. OpenAI thinks it can fix that, or at least get a piece of the chaos.
The company is adding group chat to ChatGPT. It's a straightforward feature that quietly changes what the bot is for. This isn't about asking a machine for an answer anymore. It's about inviting one into the conversation.
OpenAI positions the feature as a way to collaborate with friends, family members, or coworkers when doing things like organizing a dinner, creating travel plans, and drafting an outline -- all with ChatGPT on board. You create a group chat by selecting the "people" icon in the top-right corner of the ChatGPT app. ChatGPT will then copy your existing chat to a new group chat, where you can add others by sending them a link to your conversation (which they can also share).
ChatGPT will prompt you to enter a name, username, and photo the first time you enter or create a group chat, making it easier to see who's talking. OpenAI says it trained ChatGPT to go along with the "flow of the conversation," which means it will try to determine the best times to chime in and when to stay quiet. You can directly mention "ChatGPT" in a message if you want a response from the chatbot.
ChatGPT can also react to messages with emoji and reference profile photos when doing things like creating personalized images. You can access various settings by selecting the group chat icon on the top-right corner of the screen, which houses options to add or remove people, mute notifications, and give custom instructions to ChatGPT. OpenAI notes that ChatGPT won't use memories from your personal chats inside group conversations, nor will it create new memories based on your group chats.
ChatGPT uses GPT-5.1 Auto to power its responses in group chats, "which chooses the best model to respond with based on the prompt and the models available to the user that ChatGPT is responding to." Rate limits will only apply when ChatGPT sends a message in the chat.
So the bot can sit there quietly. It can react with an emoji. It can wait to be tagged.
OpenAI built a party guest who knows not to interrupt, trained to scan for a lull or a direct question. The privacy guardrails are clear. It won't bring up your private chat history, and it won't learn from the group talk either.
It's a temporary participant. You get a synthetic third wheel for planning, one that uses a system called GPT-5.1 Auto to pick its response. The cost, in terms of usage limits, only ticks up when the bot actually speaks.
The goal is obvious. They want ChatGPT to become a background utility, a default layer in any collaborative friction. Not an app you open, but a user you add.
Success means the AI isn't a destination. It's just there.
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Common Questions Answered
How do users create a group chat in the new ChatGPT feature?
Users can create a group chat by selecting the 'people' icon in the top-right corner of the ChatGPT app. Once created, they can add others by sending an invitation link that can be shared with additional participants.
What types of collaborative tasks can users accomplish with ChatGPT's group chat?
ChatGPT's group chat feature supports collaborative activities like organizing dinners, creating travel plans, and drafting project outlines. The AI assists multiple participants in working together within a single conversational space.
What makes ChatGPT's new group chat feature unique for collaborative planning?
The feature simplifies collective decision-making by allowing users to coordinate and plan together with AI assistance. It eliminates the need for lengthy email chains or text message exchanges, providing a streamlined approach to group project work.
Further Reading
- ChatGPT group chats roll out to everyone — Engadget
- Introducing group chats in ChatGPT — OpenAI
- ChatGPT — Release Notes - OpenAI Help Center — OpenAI Help Center
- ChatGPT slides into the group chat — Axios
