OpenAI has shared new data showing that more than a million people each week talk to ChatGPT about suicidal thoughts or plans.
The company says that about 0.15 percent of its weekly active users have conversations that include “explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.”
OpenAI also found that a similar number of users show “heightened levels of emotional attachment to ChatGPT."
OpenAI has shared new data showing that more than a million people each week talk to ChatGPT about suicidal thoughts or plans. The company says that about 0.15 percent of its 800 million weekly active users have conversations that include “explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.”
SurveyOpenAI also found that a similar number of users show “heightened levels of emotional attachment to ChatGPT,” while hundreds of thousands show signs of psychosis or mania in their chats with the AI. Although the company describes these conversations as “extremely rare.”
The information was released as part of OpenAI’s broader effort to show how ChatGPT handles mental health topics. The company said it worked with more than 170 mental health experts to evaluate and improve its latest version of the chatbot. According to OpenAI, these experts found that ChatGPT “responds more appropriately and consistently than earlier versions.”
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OpenAI’s data comes as AI chatbots face increasing criticism for their potential impact on users with mental health struggles. Past studies have shown that some chatbots can unintentionally reinforce harmful beliefs or delusions, making problems worse instead of helping.
The company is also facing legal and regulatory pressure. It is being sued by the parents of a 16-year-old boy who shared his suicidal thoughts with ChatGPT before his death.
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Earlier this month, CEO Sam Altman said on X (formerly Twitter) that the company has “been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues” in ChatGPT. The new data appears to support his claim, showing that GPT-5 gives “desirable responses” to mental health issues about 65 percent more often than before.
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Ayushi Jain
Ayushi works as Chief Copy Editor at Digit, covering everything from breaking tech news to in-depth smartphone reviews. Prior to Digit, she was part of the editorial team at IANS. View Full Profile
