OpenAI expands focus on families as ChatGPT adoption grows across households

The hiring comes as ChatGPT’s user base continues to expand beyond younger audiences.OpenAI is looking to deepen ChatGPT’s presence in households by hiring a dedicated product manager to build AI experiences for families, caregivers and older adults, TechCrunch reported.According to a job posting, the San Francisco-based role seeks candidates with experience building products for parents, families and other trust-sensitive consumer services.

OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.The hiring comes as ChatGPT’s user base continues to expand beyond younger audiences.

Sensor Tower estimates showed the share of ChatGPT users aged 35 and older globally rose to 31 per cent in the second quarter from 26 per cent a year earlier, while the share of users aged 18 to 24 fell to 29 per cent from 34 per cent.In the US, nearly one in four smartphone users who are parents used ChatGPT during the quarter, up from 16 per cent a year ago.OpenAI targets household AI adoptionThe move indicates OpenAI is beginning to position its products less as tools for individual productivity and more as technology designed for households, Ben Bajarin, CEO of technology consultancy Creative Strategies, told TechCrunch.“This is similar to the path Google, Apple, and Meta eventually followed as their platforms became embedded in everyday life, but AI raises the stakes because the assistant is not just mediating content or devices,” Bajarin said.Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), said the hiring reflects both OpenAI’s evolution and a growing recognition that AI products used by children and teenagers require different safeguards than those designed for adults.“I see this as safety by redesign,” Balkam told TechCrunch. “You take the initial product or service that was released… not really with kids in mind… so this is a much-needed reaction and response.”The comments come as new research published by FOSI found that parents are underestimating how often their children use generative AI.

While 27 per cent of US parents said their child had used generative AI in the past week, 38 per cent of children reported doing so themselves, according to a survey of more than 4,000 families in the US and Australia.Balkam said AI companies should build products differently for younger users, with stronger content controls, age-appropriate experiences, parental oversight and reminders that users are interacting with an AI rather than a human.The hiring also comes amid growing scrutiny of how AI companies protect younger users.

OpenAI has faced multiple lawsuits from parents alleging that ChatGPT contributed to harm suffered by their children, including in cases involving suicide.In response, the company has introduced a series of safety measures over the past year, including parental controls for teen accounts, routing sensitive conversations to reasoning models designed to better handle signs of distress, and an optional “Trusted Contact” feature that can alert a family member or caregiver in cases of potential self-harm.Balkam said AI companies have an opportunity to avoid the mistakes made by social media platforms, which treated children much like adults for years before introducing stronger safeguards amid mounting public pressure and regulatory scrutiny.The hiring also aligns with OpenAI’s broader efforts around families.

In a recent workshop organised with the San Antonio Spurs Community Impact organisation and the Positive Coaching Alliance, the company explored AI’s role in learning, coaching and youth engagement.Older users drive changing AI demographicsThe demographic shift is not unique to ChatGPT, though OpenAI’s audience is changing in some distinct ways.

Sensor Tower estimates showed users aged 25 to 34 account for 40 per cent of the global app audiences for ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, compared with 33 per cent for Microsoft’s Copilot.

Copilot, however, skews older, with 20 per cent of its users aged 45 and above, compared with 14 per cent for Claude, 12 per cent for Gemini and 11 per cent for ChatGPT.While ChatGPT remains relatively underpenetrated among older users, it is adding them at a faster rate than its rivals.

The share of users aged 45 and above rose three percentage points year-on-year in the second quarter, compared with a two-point increase for Copilot and declines for Claude and Gemini.Among US smartphone users who are parents, Gemini had the widest reach at 32 per cent in the second quarter, followed by ChatGPT at 24 per cent, Claude at 4 per cent and Copilot at 2 per cent.Bajarin said he expects AI companies to roll out family plans, child and teen profiles, caregiver tools, shared household memory, AI tutoring and stronger safety controls as AI becomes a technology shared across generations.