OpenAI shelves erotic chatbot plans indefinitely after pushback from staff and investors

OpenAI has put its “adult mode” chatbot, internally called “Citron mode,” on hold with no timeline for release, citing a lack of empirical evidence on the effects of sexually explicit AI conversations and emotional attachments, and saying it wants long-term research before making a product decision. The project faced internal opposition from staff who argued it conflicted with OpenAI's mission, pushback from investors concerned about reputational risk relative to limited business upside, and technical difficulties training models previously built to avoid explicit content, including challenges filtering illegal content from training datasets. The decision is part of a broader refocus by OpenAI on productivity tools and its “super app” strategy, following Tuesday's announcement that it is also winding down its Sora video generation model and social app.