The AI giant is killing a feature that barely lasted eight months, pivoting toward direct messaging as it reshapes ChatGPT into something closer to a social platform.
OpenAI is pulling the plug on group chats in ChatGPT, a collaborative feature that let up to 20 users brainstorm alongside the AI in a shared conversation. The retirement process kicks off on July 9, 2026, roughly eight months after the feature first went live.
What’s actually changing #
Starting July 9, users won’t be able to create new group chats or add participants to existing ones. Current group conversations will shift into a read-only format, meaning your old brainstorming sessions, shared files, and images will still be accessible. You just won’t be able to continue the conversation.
Individual ChatGPT conversations remain completely untouched. This is purely about the multi-user experience.
The group chats feature originally launched as a pilot on November 13, 2025, in a handful of markets including Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan. By November 20, it had rolled out globally. The feature came loaded with emoji reactions, profile photos, file and image sharing, and a dedicated sidebar for managing participants.
OpenAI framed the decision as part of its broader effort to simplify the user experience, noting that insights from the pilot will inform future collaborative features.
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