OpenAI will strip ChatGPT's upcoming "adult mode" of its ability to generate images, voice, or video, limiting the controversial feature to text-only erotic conversations after the company's age-verification system failed to properly identify minors 12% of the time.

With roughly 100 million users under 18 on ChatGPT each week, the error rate could allow millions of kids to access sexual content meant exclusively for verified adults, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Sunday.

The company confirmed to the Journal that it will launch adult mode with what it calls "smut rather than pornography," blocking all visual and audio generation. That contrasts sharply with competitors like Elon Musk's xAI, which announced Thursday its Grok chatbot would generate content "allowed in an R-rated movie" through video tools.

OpenAI originally planned to launch the feature in the first quarter of 2026 after CEO Sam Altman announced it in October, claiming the company had solved enough "serious mental health issues" to let adults have erotic conversations with ChatGPT. The company said earlier this month it would delay the rollout to focus on other products, but per the report, internal documents show safety failures and explosive pushback from mental health experts drove the decision.

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