More than three years after generative AI became mainstream with the launch of ChatGPT, OpenAI is expanding its focus from individual users to families.
OpenAI is hiring a dedicated product manager in San Francisco to build experiences for families, caregivers, and seniors across our products. The role requires experience building products for parents and families, as well as other trust-oriented consumer experiences, according to the job posting.
The hire comes as ChatGPT’s audience continues to expand beyond young users. According to Sensor Tower estimates shared exclusively with TechCrunch, the percentage of global ChatGPT users 35 and older rose to 31% in the second quarter from 26% a year earlier, while the percentage of users 18 to 24 fell to 29% from 34%. In the U.S., the company estimates that nearly one in four smartphone users who are parents used ChatGPT in the quarter, up from 16% a year earlier.
OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment on job postings.
The dedicated family-focused product role signals that OpenAI is starting to think of its products less as tools for personal productivity and more as technology designed for the home, said Ben Bajarin, chief executive officer of technology consultancy Creative Strategies.
“This is similar to the path that Google, Apple, and Meta ultimately took as their platforms became embedded in everyday life, but AI raises the stakes because assistants don’t just mediate content and devices,” he told TechCrunch.
This change also brings new challenges around trust and safety. Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute, said the adoption reflects both the maturation of OpenAI and the growing recognition that AI products used by children and adolescents require different safeguards than those designed for adults.
“We think this is safety by design,” Balcombe told TechCrunch. “The products and services that were initially released were not designed with children in mind, so this is a much-needed reaction and response.”
The comments come after a new study released this week by the Family Online Safety Institute found that parents underestimate how often their children use generative AI. The survey of more than 4,000 families in the US and Australia found that 27% of US parents said their child had used generative AI in the past week, while 38% of children reported using it themselves.
Balkam told TechCrunch that AI companies need to build different products for younger users, including stronger content controls, age-appropriate experiences, parental supervision, and reminders to let users know they’re interacting with an AI rather than a human.
The hire comes amid increased attention to how AI companies protect young users. OpenAI is facing multiple lawsuits from parents who claim ChatGPT contributed to harm to their children, including in cases involving suicide.
In response to some of these concerns, OpenAI has introduced a series of safety measures over the past year. These include parental controls for a teen’s account, the ability to route sensitive conversations to inference models designed to better handle signs of distress, and, most recently, an optional “Trusted Contacts” feature that can alert family members or caregivers in the event of potential self-harm.
Balcombe said AI companies have an opportunity to avoid the mistakes made by social media platforms, which for years treated children like adults before adding stronger safeguards amid growing public pressure and regulatory scrutiny.
This adoption also aligns with OpenAI’s broader family-centered efforts. In a recent workshop held in conjunction with the San Antonio Spurs’ community impact organization and the Positive Coaching Alliance, the company said it aimed to explore the role of AI in learning, coaching, and youth engagement.
That said, demographic shifts are not unique to ChatGPT, although OpenAI’s audience is changing in some distinct ways.
Sensor Tower estimates that Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini have 40% of their global app audiences in the 25-34 age group, in line with ChatGPT, compared to 33% for Microsoft’s Copilot. However, Copilot is older, with 20% of its users over 45 years old, compared to 14% for Claude, 12% for Gemini, and 11% for ChatGPT.
ChatGPT still has relatively little penetration among older users, but it is adding users faster than its rivals. According to Sensor Tower, the percentage of users 45 and older increased by 3 percentage points year-over-year in the second quarter, compared to a 2 percentage point increase for Copilot and a decline for Claude and Gemini.
Among US smartphone users (parents), Gemini had the broadest reach at 32% in Q2, followed by ChatGPT at 24%, Claude at 4%, and Copilot at 2%.
For Bajarin, OpenAI’s decision to hire a family-focused product manager is indicative of where consumer AI is heading. As AI becomes a technology shared across generations, he predicts companies will roll out family planning, child and teen profiles, caregiving tools, shared family memories, AI tutoring, and stronger safety controls.
If you buy through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect editorial independence.
