OpenAI's Trusted Contact feature for ChatGPT users in crisis is a sign AI is becoming something much more personal

Date:
Mon, 11 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Description:
OpenAIs new Trusted Contact feature suggests ChatGPT is evolving from a chatbot into emotional infrastructure.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter If there was ever evidence that people are forming deep emotional reliance on ChatGPT, OpenAIs new Trusted Contact feature is probably it.

Speaking at Sequoia Capitals AI Ascent event last May, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said young people were using ChatGPT like an operating system for life not just for productivity, but for major personal decisions. I mean, that stuff,
I think, is all cool and impressive, Altman said. And theres this other thing where, like, they dont really make life decisions without asking ChatGPT what they should do. Latest Videos From You may like You can now set a ChatGPT Trusted Contact to alert over safety concerns The true emotional cost of retiring ChatGPT-4o ChatGPTs adult mode being shelved reveals a much bigger
AI problem At the time, the comment sounded provocative. A year later,
though, ChatGPT has become something closer to a therapist, life coach, confidant, and companion for many of its users. Now OpenAI is building an actual emotional-support infrastructure around the chatbot with a feature called Trusted Contact. ChatGPT will now contact your friends if you need
help The feature is still rolling out, so Trusted Contact is not available to everybody yet, but to find it, you click or tap on your profile name in ChatGPT, then look in Settings. You can nominate a trusted adult contact, who must accept the role before the feature becomes active.

If ChatGPTs automated systems detect conversations that may indicate a
serious risk of self-harm, the user is warned that their Trusted Contact
could be notified and encouraged to reach out themselves first.

A specially trained human review team then assesses the situation before any alert is sent. If reviewers believe there is a genuine safety concern, the Trusted Contact receives a notification by email, text, or in-app alert encouraging them to check in. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in
your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

OpenAI says the alerts do not include chat transcripts or detailed conversation history in order to protect user privacy, and you can remove or change your Trusted Contact at any time. Being contacted by the Trusted Contact feature in ChatGPT on an iPhone. (Image credit: OpenAI) Reassuring or unsettling? OpenAI says Trusted Contact was developed with input from mental-health experts, suicide-prevention specialists, and a global network
of more than 260 doctors across 60 countries. Taken together with all the parental controls that OpenAI has already introduced and the safety
guardrails already in place, Trusted Contact is another sign that the company is acknowledging that ChatGPT is something that can affect users emotionally, not just technologically.

The recent product announcements from OpenAI have really played down the use of ChatGPT as a confident, and emphasised ChatGPT's productivity focus more, particularly regarding the Codex tool for creating code. Yet at the same
time, more and more safety features aimed at ChatGPT users' emotional well-being are being added.

The idea that we are now being monitored by ChatGPT is also concerning to some. When my colleague Becca Caddy recently interviewed Amy Sutton from Freedom Counselling for an investigation into AI monitoring tools in the workplace , she noted that knowing you're being monitored by your AI, especially in the workplace, could actually worsen the problem its trying to solve. Sutton commented, With mental health stigmas still rife, AI
observation would likely lead to greater efforts to hide evidence of struggles. This could create a dangerous spiral, where the greater our
efforts to hide low mood or anxiety, the worse it becomes.

Whether Trusted Contact feels reassuring or unsettling probably depends on
how you already see AI and ChatGPT. But the feature is another example of how AI companies acknowledge that their products are not just tools for productivity and information, but as systems people may increasingly rely on emotionally during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best business laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/chatgpt/openais-trusted-cont act-feature-for-chatgpt-users-in-crisis-is-a-sign-ai-is-becoming-something-muc h-more-personal


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