OpenAI Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s Opt-In Self-Harm Alert Works
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1]. When risk appears, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and send the chosen contact an automated alert asking them to check in [1].
Published byEdited with GPT-5.5Images generated with GPT Image 2
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1].
When risk appears, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and send the chosen contact an automated alert asking them to check in [1].
The feature extends OpenAI’s broader crisis safeguards, including refusing self harm instructions, responding with empathy, and guiding people toward real world support [4][12].
OpenAI’s Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s New Self-Harm Safety Alert WorksAI-generated editorial illustration of ChatGPT’s Trusted Contact safety alert.
AI Prompt
Create a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: OpenAI’s Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s New Self-Harm Safety Alert Works. Article summary: OpenAI’s new Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users opt in to name a friend, family member, or other trusted person who may be alerted if ChatGPT detects signs of self harm or suicide risk in a conversation.... Topic tags: openai, chatgpt, ai safety, mental health, suicide prevention. Reference image context from search candidates: Reference image 1: visual subject "## OpenAI has introduced a new “Trusted Contact” feature for ChatGPT users that can alert a chosen friend or family member if conversations suggest possible self-harm. The optional" source context "You can now add an emergency contact in ChatGPT conversations" Reference image 2: visual subject "According to OpenAI's blog post, the company is starting to ro
openai.com
OpenAI’s Trusted Contact is designed to make ChatGPT do something a chatbot cannot do alone: involve a real person the user has chosen in advance. The opt-in feature lets adult ChatGPT users name a trusted contact, such as a friend or family member, who may be alerted if a conversation suggests self-harm or suicide risk .
What Trusted Contact does
Trusted Contact is a safety setting for adult ChatGPT users. After a user opts in and designates someone, ChatGPT may encourage the user to reach out to that person if self-harm ideation appears in a conversation .
The feature can also send the chosen contact an automated alert encouraging them to check in with the user . That makes it different from a standard crisis-resource message: it can add a human support layer involving someone the user selected ahead of time .
Studio Global AI
Continue your research
This page includes a source-backed answer you can continue inside Studio Global.
What is the short answer to "OpenAI Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s Opt-In Self-Harm Alert Works"?
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1].
What are the key points to validate first?
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1]. When risk appears, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and send the chosen contact an automated alert asking them to check in [1].
What should I do next in practice?
The feature extends OpenAI’s broader crisis safeguards, including refusing self harm instructions, responding with empathy, and guiding people toward real world support [4][12].
OpenAI Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s Opt-In Self-Harm Alert Works
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1]. When risk appears, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and send the chosen contact an automated alert asking them to check in [1].
Published byEdited with GPT-5.5Images generated with GPT Image 2
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1].
When risk appears, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and send the chosen contact an automated alert asking them to check in [1].
The feature extends OpenAI’s broader crisis safeguards, including refusing self harm instructions, responding with empathy, and guiding people toward real world support [4][12].
OpenAI’s Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s New Self-Harm Safety Alert WorksAI-generated editorial illustration of ChatGPT’s Trusted Contact safety alert.
AI Prompt
Create a landscape editorial hero image for this Studio Global article: OpenAI’s Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s New Self-Harm Safety Alert Works. Article summary: OpenAI’s new Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users opt in to name a friend, family member, or other trusted person who may be alerted if ChatGPT detects signs of self harm or suicide risk in a conversation.... Topic tags: openai, chatgpt, ai safety, mental health, suicide prevention. Reference image context from search candidates: Reference image 1: visual subject "## OpenAI has introduced a new “Trusted Contact” feature for ChatGPT users that can alert a chosen friend or family member if conversations suggest possible self-harm. The optional" source context "You can now add an emergency contact in ChatGPT conversations" Reference image 2: visual subject "According to OpenAI's blog post, the company is starting to ro
openai.com
OpenAI’s Trusted Contact is designed to make ChatGPT do something a chatbot cannot do alone: involve a real person the user has chosen in advance. The opt-in feature lets adult ChatGPT users name a trusted contact, such as a friend or family member, who may be alerted if a conversation suggests self-harm or suicide risk .
What Trusted Contact does
Trusted Contact is a safety setting for adult ChatGPT users. After a user opts in and designates someone, ChatGPT may encourage the user to reach out to that person if self-harm ideation appears in a conversation .
The feature can also send the chosen contact an automated alert encouraging them to check in with the user . That makes it different from a standard crisis-resource message: it can add a human support layer involving someone the user selected ahead of time .
Studio Global AI
Continue your research
This page includes a source-backed answer you can continue inside Studio Global.
What is the short answer to "OpenAI Trusted Contact: How ChatGPT’s Opt-In Self-Harm Alert Works"?
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1].
What are the key points to validate first?
OpenAI’s May 2026 Trusted Contact feature lets adult ChatGPT users preselect someone who may be alerted when a chat suggests self harm or suicide risk [1]. When risk appears, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and send the chosen contact an automated alert asking them to check in [1].
What should I do next in practice?
The feature extends OpenAI’s broader crisis safeguards, including refusing self harm instructions, responding with empathy, and guiding people toward real world support [4][12].
Opt in first. The adult user chooses a trusted person in advance, rather than the feature being automatically assigned to everyone .
A risky conversation is detected. The safeguard is tied to possible self-harm or suicide ideation in a ChatGPT conversation .
A check-in can be triggered. ChatGPT can prompt the user to contact their trusted person and can send that person an automated alert asking them to check in .
Public rollout reporting describes the alert as a check-in prompt. It does not establish that the trusted contact becomes a crisis responder, clinician, or emergency service .
Why OpenAI is adding this layer
Trusted Contact fits into OpenAI’s broader effort to strengthen ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive mental-health conversations. OpenAI says its safeguards include training models not to provide self-harm instructions, shifting toward supportive and empathetic language, and steering people toward crisis resources when appropriate .
OpenAI has also said it worked with more than 170 mental-health experts to improve how ChatGPT recognizes distress, responds with care, and guides people toward real-world support . In that context, Trusted Contact moves beyond the chatbot’s reply itself by creating a path for a user-selected person to notice and check in .
What users should understand before enabling it
The most important practical detail is consent: Trusted Contact is opt-in, and the user has to choose the contact first . That means the feature depends on selecting someone who would be appropriate and able to respond if they receive a check-in alert.
The feature should also be understood as a safety prompt, not a substitute for emergency help. OpenAI’s own safety materials frame ChatGPT’s role as recognizing distress, responding carefully, and guiding people toward real-world support and crisis resources . If someone is in immediate danger, local emergency or crisis resources remain the appropriate route rather than relying on a chatbot notification.
What is still unclear
The sourced rollout explains the basic mechanism: an adult user opts in, ChatGPT detects possible self-harm or suicide-risk signals, and an automated alert can ask the trusted contact to check in . It does not provide independent outcome data showing whether Trusted Contact reduces harm in real-world use.
It also describes the contact receiving an automated check-in alert, but the available reporting cited here does not specify the full contents of that alert or whether any conversation excerpts are shared . Users considering the setting should review the current ChatGPT product flow and privacy details before enabling it.
Bottom line
Trusted Contact is OpenAI’s new opt-in safety feature for adult ChatGPT users who want a preselected person to be reachable during possible self-harm or suicide-risk conversations. If enabled, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and can alert the chosen person to check in, adding a human support layer to OpenAI’s existing crisis-response safeguards .
xugj520.cn
ChatGPT Mental Health Safety: How AI Handles Crisis ...
Opt in first. The adult user chooses a trusted person in advance, rather than the feature being automatically assigned to everyone .
A risky conversation is detected. The safeguard is tied to possible self-harm or suicide ideation in a ChatGPT conversation .
A check-in can be triggered. ChatGPT can prompt the user to contact their trusted person and can send that person an automated alert asking them to check in .
Public rollout reporting describes the alert as a check-in prompt. It does not establish that the trusted contact becomes a crisis responder, clinician, or emergency service .
Why OpenAI is adding this layer
Trusted Contact fits into OpenAI’s broader effort to strengthen ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive mental-health conversations. OpenAI says its safeguards include training models not to provide self-harm instructions, shifting toward supportive and empathetic language, and steering people toward crisis resources when appropriate .
OpenAI has also said it worked with more than 170 mental-health experts to improve how ChatGPT recognizes distress, responds with care, and guides people toward real-world support . In that context, Trusted Contact moves beyond the chatbot’s reply itself by creating a path for a user-selected person to notice and check in .
What users should understand before enabling it
The most important practical detail is consent: Trusted Contact is opt-in, and the user has to choose the contact first . That means the feature depends on selecting someone who would be appropriate and able to respond if they receive a check-in alert.
The feature should also be understood as a safety prompt, not a substitute for emergency help. OpenAI’s own safety materials frame ChatGPT’s role as recognizing distress, responding carefully, and guiding people toward real-world support and crisis resources . If someone is in immediate danger, local emergency or crisis resources remain the appropriate route rather than relying on a chatbot notification.
What is still unclear
The sourced rollout explains the basic mechanism: an adult user opts in, ChatGPT detects possible self-harm or suicide-risk signals, and an automated alert can ask the trusted contact to check in . It does not provide independent outcome data showing whether Trusted Contact reduces harm in real-world use.
It also describes the contact receiving an automated check-in alert, but the available reporting cited here does not specify the full contents of that alert or whether any conversation excerpts are shared . Users considering the setting should review the current ChatGPT product flow and privacy details before enabling it.
Bottom line
Trusted Contact is OpenAI’s new opt-in safety feature for adult ChatGPT users who want a preselected person to be reachable during possible self-harm or suicide-risk conversations. If enabled, ChatGPT can encourage the user to reach out and can alert the chosen person to check in, adding a human support layer to OpenAI’s existing crisis-response safeguards .
xugj520.cn
ChatGPT Mental Health Safety: How AI Handles Crisis ...
