OpenAI Puts Its GPT Dates Scheduled Chat In ‘Adult Mode’ After Dropping Sora
First delayed, now dropped. Less than a month after work on ChatGPT’s “adult mode” was delayed, OpenAI has decided to shut down the controversial model “forever,” according to a report in the Financial Times.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly said decided to cut back on “side requests” and focus on its core products of ChatGPTCodex tool and agent Atlas of the AI browserand other AI projects in development.
One of those “side quests” was the video production tool and app Sora, which OpenAI said it would discontinue. earlier this week.
ChatGPT’s adult mode would have allowed users to have adult-themed text conversations, but it was not supposed to produce sexually suggestive audio, images or videos. The provocative chatbot has received pushback from people inside and outside OpenAI, who say it cannot safely prevent children from accessing it or that it contains exploitative material. OpenAI said earlier this month that it was pausing, not ending, work on the project.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.
(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that it infringed Ziff Davis’ copyrights in training and using its AI programs.)
There seemed to be too much pressure to get OpenAI’s adult mode off the ground. Internal consultants they were worried that children would have access to the chatbot and that it would be difficult to prevent sexual harassment materials from entering the model. OpenAI investors were concerned that the adult mode offered more risk than benefit.
Along with the social challenges, OpenAI also faced technical challenges in training the model, according to the FT.
Major changes for OpenAI
OpenAI appears to be shifting its focus amid competition from Google and Anthropic, which are eating into the company’s market share.
Google launched Gemini 3 — its latest version — in November, and it beat ChatGPT in performance tests. Anthropic also released Claude Opus 4.5 in November. Altman announced a “code red” to employees in December, telling them to upgrade ChatGPT.
The Ramp Index, which tracks AI adoption among tens of thousands of US businesses, said Anthropic had a 5% gain in enterprise AI adoption in February, compared to a 1.5% decline for OpenAI.
Read more: OpenAI’s Slop Machine Sora Is Dead. We’re All Better Without You
Although financial problems have not been cited as a reason for OpenAI’s recent focus, the San Francisco startup has been trying to scale the books and monetize its technology, according to the New York Times. OpenAI’s own forecast predicts a loss of $14 billion by 2026, while it plans to spend $200 billion by the end of the decade.
OpenAI’s decision to disable ChatGPT’s adult mode comes amid growing criticism of sexual content found in AI chatbots. Grokchatbot powered by Elon Musk’s xAI, has been widely criticized for allowing users to create fake nude or sexually suggestive images of people, including children, with just a photo. The city of Baltimore on Wednesday sued xAI for producing non-consensual porn in violation of the city’s consumer protection and deceptive practices laws.
On the other hand, Meta has also been criticized for allowing its AI bots to have provocative conversations with children.
