ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a conversational AI chatbot developed by OpenAI that enables users to interact with large language models through natural-language dialogue. Launched in late 2022, it quickly became one of the fastest-adopted consumer software products in history, helping establish generative AI as a mainstream technology category. It runs across free and paid subscription tiers and powers a broad ecosystem of third-party applications via OpenAI's API.

The underlying models — part of OpenAI's GPT series — have evolved rapidly; the company has been migrating users from GPT-5.2 to GPT-5.5 as of mid-2026. OpenAI, valued at $730 billion following a round anchored by SoftBank, NVIDIA, and Amazon, has also expanded into robotics, signaling ambitions well beyond the chatbot. A confidential IPO filing underscores how central ChatGPT has become to the company's growth story.

ChatGPT's reach has attracted significant regulatory scrutiny. A coalition of 42 state attorneys general has issued a sweeping subpoena covering OpenAI's user safety practices and data handling, and the platform has faced civil litigation from individuals alleging chatbot-related harm. OpenAI has also removed accounts linked to foreign influence operations. These pressures frame ChatGPT not only as a technological milestone but as a test case for how society governs large-scale AI systems.