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OpenAI has introduced a new safety feature to ChatGPT that lets users add “trusted contacts” to their profiles. These contacts will receive alerts if a user’s ChatGPT exchange points to signs of self-harm—one of many changes OpenAI is making to its best-known product after multiple suicides that allegedly involved the use of ChatGPT. The company says it hopes the new feature will bridge online chats and offline support by connecting people in crisis with someone they personally trust.
The feature is now available in ChatGPT‘s settings and requires both the user and their trusted contact to opt in. Users can provide the name, email, and phone number of a trusted individual, who then gets an invitation that explains what it means to be a contact and how alerts may work. OpenAI also says that automated systems look for signs of serious self-harm or suicide. If found, they pass these flagged chats to trained human reviewers.
While it is unknown how much of a concerning conversation is shared with the reviewers, email, SMS, and app notifications to a trusted contact are very minimal: They do not include chat transcripts, screenshots, or direct quotes, only a short note that a serious safety concern exists and that it may help to check in. It’s up to the trusted contact to decide what to say and when to say it, though OpenAI does provide guidance from mental health experts that may help contacts who feel a little lost.
OpenAI’s reviewers can approve an alert only when the chat presents an urgent safety concern and only when the user and their contact have indicated they’re over the age of 18. In many cases, ChatGPT’s first intervention involves urging the user to reach out to their contact or to local helplines.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, ExtremeTech’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis’s copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
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