ChatGPT Evolution: What’s Changing in the Coming Months?

Following GPT-5, OpenAI is already planning further enhancements for ChatGPT. In recent weeks, the California-based company has explored various avenues to enrich the roadmap of its flagship tool, which is used weekly by 700 million users, as well as to diversify its revenue sources. Between official announcements and still vague projects, let’s delve into the potential upcoming features.

1. Parental Control Option

In response to concerns about minor protection, following a complaint in the United States and an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), OpenAI has announced the imminent integration of a parental control option on ChatGPT. Developed in collaboration with artificial intelligence experts and doctors, this feature will allow parents to link their account with their teenager’s to:

• Disable features such as memory or conversation history,
• Set specific behavior rules, so that ChatGPT responds appropriately to the adolescent,
• Establish time periods during which the adolescent cannot access ChatGPT,
• Receive alerts when the system detects “that their teenager is going through a period of acute distress”.

This new functionality is expected to be rolled out by the end of September, the company indicated in a statement.

2. Age Detection System

At the same time, OpenAI is working on developing an age detection system, aimed at automatically directing users under 18 to a tailored version of ChatGPT. “When it is identified that a user is under 18, they will automatically be directed to a ChatGPT experience with rules suitable for their age, including blocking explicit sexual content and, in rare cases of acute distress, the possible intervention of law enforcement to ensure their safety”, the company explains in a statement.

If the system – whose deployment date has not been revealed – fails to accurately determine the age, or if the information provided is incomplete, the default experience will be automatically adjusted, OpenAI clarifies.

3. Integration of Advertisements?

In the Decoder podcast by The Verge, Nick Turley, vice president of OpenAI in charge of ChatGPT, did not completely rule out the possibility of integrating advertisements to supplement the revenue from subscriptions. “I am humble enough not to categorically rule it out”, he stated, while noting that such integration would need to be carefully “thought through”. This indicates that such a scenario is not yet imminent.

Sam Altman has also shown more nuance in recent months, after having long defended an ad-free model. In a video released by the company in June, he admitted he was no longer “totally opposed” to it. However, before reaching that point, OpenAI might first explore taking a commission on products recommended by ChatGPT, according to The Verge.

4. A More Affordable Subscription?

In August, OpenAI quietly launched a new pricing tier for ChatGPT, as noted by the specialized media BleepingComputer. Rolled out in India and Indonesia, this plan called ChatGPT Go, priced at under five dollars, notably extends the capabilities of queries, image generation, or file downloads, while providing limited access to the Deep Research function. However, whether this low-cost offer will be launched in other countries, particularly in France, remains to be seen. On a help page, OpenAI states that “other countries and regions may be eligible in the future”, without providing further details.

5. A Web Browser?

As Perplexity recently launched Comet and Gemini is gradually integrating into Chrome in the United States, OpenAI is also considering entering the web browser market. This was reported by Reuters in July, based on testimonies from three sources close to the matter.

Based on Chromium, this browser, which is expected to launch “in the coming weeks”, would be “designed to keep certain interactions of users within a chat interface, similar to ChatGPT”, the news agency reported. According to Reuters, it would also give the company the opportunity to integrate its numerous tools, including Operator, an agent capable of performing tasks on behalf of the user. But also to collect, like its competitors, more data on its users. With the aim of monetizing it?