OpenAI's adult chatbot probably isn't happening

It's been a busy week shutting things down at OpenAI.

Just days after OpenAI unceremoniously pulled the plug on its video generation app Sora, a new report from Financial Times claims the company has put plans to launch an x-rated chatbot on hold "indefinitely."

Originally promised in the fall of 2025 as an extra feature for verified users, the sex-centered adult mode for ChatGPT was delayed a few weeks back. However, it seemed at the time that the company was still intent to launch it eventually, with a a company spokesperson saying that getting the (adult) experience right would "take more time."

Now, however, it appears that the project has been shelved for good. The company will instead focus on its core products, the report said.

The reasoning behind the move isn't that hard to understand, given the headaches the Grok chatbot recently caused its maker xAI over sexualized images of adults and children.

According to the Financial Times, both OpenAI investors and staff raised concerns about a sexualized AI and its effect on society. Furthermore, there were technical challenges – including the bot's inability to accurately distinguish between adults and minors, with an error rate of over 10 percent.

More broadly, it appears that both the shutdown of Sora and the dismantling of adult mode are part of OpenAI's effort to reduce the number of lawsuits hitting the company. Over the past six months, several lawsuits were filed against OpenAI as young people died by suicide after interacting with ChatGPT, prompting the company to introduce an age prediction system in January.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.