Therapy With A Bot? Altman Says Your AI Confessions Could Be Used In Court

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that many people use ChatGPT like a therapist, but those chats lack the legal protections of conversations with doctors, lawyers, or licensed professionals.

He warned that such chats could be disclosed in legal cases because there are no existing laws granting them confidentiality.

Altman noted that OpenAI deletes chats from Free, Plus, and Pro users within 30 days unless it is required to keep them for legal or security reasons.

He also acknowledged that employees may review conversations to improve the AI or detect misuse.

He stressed that younger users increasingly turn to ChatGPT for personal advice and said there should be clear privacy rules for AI conversations.

His comments come as OpenAI appeals a court order, obtained by The New York Times and other outlets, to preserve all user chats—even deleted ones—as part of an ongoing copyright lawsuit.