OpenAI has shelved plans for a controversial "adult mode" in ChatGPT indefinitely, marking the latest in a series of project cancellations as the company refocuses on its core business products. The Financial Times reported Thursday that the erotic chatbot feature has no timeline for release after facing internal resistance and technical challenges.
CEO Sam Altman first floated the adult mode concept in October, but it immediately drew criticism from tech watchdog groups and OpenAI's own staff. A January meeting between executives and advisers grew heated, with one adviser warning the company might be developing what The Wall Street Journal described as "a sexy suicide coach."
The proposed feature would have enabled text chats with adult themes but wasn't supposed to generate erotic audio, images or videos. The decision comes amid criticism of sexualized content available in AI chatbots and concerns about unhealthy attachments to AI systems. According to Android Authority, internal pushback centered on worries about exposing minors to problematic sexual content and users forming emotional dependencies on chatbots.
This cancellation follows two other recent project cuts as OpenAI streamlines operations. On Tuesday, the company quietly announced it would deprioritize Instant Checkout, a feature that aimed to turn ChatGPT into a purchase portal for e-commerce websites.
Then on Wednesday, OpenAI surprisingly shut down Sora, its AI video generator that had been criticized for inspiring what some call AI "slop."
All three moves come approximately a week after The Wall Street Journal reported OpenAI would undertake a "major shift" to pivot away from distractions and focus on business users and coders. The company reportedly wants to concentrate resources on ChatGPT, its coding tool Codex, and the agentic AI browser Atlas.
The retreat from side projects coincides with increasing competitive pressure from Anthropic, which has aggressively released coding and business tools over recent months. According to CNET, The Ramp Index tracking AI adoption among US businesses showed Anthropic with a 5% gain in February while OpenAI declined 1.5%.
OpenAI also faces financial pressures despite its high-profile partnerships. The company reportedly forecasts a $14 billion loss in 2026 while planning to spend $200 billion through the end of the decade.
Three weeks ago, it announced a $200 million agreement with the Department of Defense even as competitor Anthropic became embroiled in legal battles with the same agency.
"Nothing further to add."
That was the statement from an OpenAI spokesperson when reached for comment by TechCrunch.
