OpenAI Expands Focus to Include Families as ChatGPT Evolves
More than three years after the launch of ChatGPT brought generative AI into the mainstream, OpenAI is expanding its focus beyond individual users to include families.
OpenAI’s New Role: Product Manager for Family-Oriented Experiences
OpenAI is hiring a dedicated Product Manager in San Francisco to create experiences for families, caregivers, and older adults with its products. According to the job posting, the position requires experience in developing products for parents and families, as well as other trusted consumer experiences.
Changing Demographics of ChatGPT Users
The discontinuation comes as ChatGPT’s target audience continues to expand beyond younger users. According to Sensor Tower estimates shared exclusively with TechCrunch, the share of ChatGPT users aged 35 and older worldwide increased to 31% in the second quarter from 26% a year ago, while the share of users aged 18 to 24 fell from 34% to 29%. In the U.S., nearly one in four smartphone users who are parents used ChatGPT in the quarter, up from 16% a year ago, the company estimates.
OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment on the job posting.
Industry Insights: A Shift Toward Household Technology
A dedicated product role focused on families signals that OpenAI is starting to view its products less as tools for individual productivity and more as technology for households, said Ben Bajarin, managing director of technology consultancy Creative Strategies.
“This is similar to the path that Google, Apple and Meta eventually took as their platforms became integrated into everyday life, but AI raises the stakes because the assistant doesn’t just mediate content or devices,” he told TechCrunch.
Addressing Trust and Security Concerns
This change also brings new trust and security challenges. Stephen Balkam, executive director of the Family Online Safety Institute, said the hiring reflects both OpenAI’s maturity and the growing recognition that AI products used by children and teens require different protections than those designed for adults.
“I view this as security by redesign,” Balkam told TechCrunch. “They’re taking the original product or service that was released … not really with children in mind … so this is a much-needed reaction and response.”
Parental Awareness and the Need for Protective Measures
The comments come as new research released this week by the Family Online Safety Institute finds that parents are underestimating how often their children use generative AI. While 27% of U.S. parents said their child used generative AI in the past week, 38% of children said they did so themselves, according to the survey of more than 4,000 families in the United States and Australia.
Balkam told TechCrunch that AI companies should develop other products for younger users, with stricter content controls, age-appropriate experiences, parental supervision and reminders to inform users that they are interacting with an AI – and not a human.
Photo credit:Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch
Legal Challenges and Safety Measures
The hiring also comes amid increasing scrutiny over how AI companies protect younger users. OpenAI has faced several lawsuits from parents alleging that ChatGPT contributed to the harm of their children, including cases involving suicide.
In response to some of these concerns, OpenAI has introduced a number of security measures over the past year, including parental controls for teen accounts, routing sensitive conversations to reasoning models designed to better respond to signs of distress, and more recently, an optional Trusted Contact feature that can alert a family member or caregiver of potential self-harm.
AI companies, Balkam said, have a chance to avoid the mistakes of social media platforms, which for years treated children similarly to adults before introducing stricter protections in the face of increasing public pressure and regulatory scrutiny.
OpenAI’s Broader Efforts and Future Prospects
The hiring is also consistent with OpenAI’s broader efforts around families. In a recent workshop with the San Antonio Spurs Community Impact Organization and the Positive Coaching Alliance, the company said it aims to explore the role of AI in learning, coaching, and youth engagement.
The Competitive Landscape: A Growing User Base
However, the demographic change does not only affect ChatGPT, even if OpenAI’s target group is changing in some ways.
Sensor Tower estimates that users ages 25 to 34 make up 40% of the global app audience for Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, equivalent to ChatGPT, compared to 33% for Microsoft’s Copilot. However, Copilot skews older: 20% of users are 45 and older, compared to 14% for Claude, 12% for Gemini, and 11% for ChatGPT.
While ChatGPT is still relatively unpopular among older users, it is adding them faster than its competitors. According to Sensor Tower, the share of users ages 45 and older increased three percentage points year-over-year in the second quarter, compared with a two percentage point increase for Copilot and declines for Claude and Gemini.
Among U.S. smartphone users who are parents, Gemini had the largest reach in the second quarter at 32%, followed by ChatGPT at 24%, Claude at 4%, and Copilot at 2%.
Future Vision for Consumer AI
For Bajarin, OpenAI’s decision to hire a product manager focused on families is a signal of where consumer AI is headed. As AI becomes a technology shared across generations, he expects companies to introduce family plans, child and youth profiles, caregiver tools, shared household memory, AI tutoring, and stricter security controls.
If you purchase through links in our articles, we may receive a small commission. Our editorial independence remains unaffected.
Source: Here
“`
