The company behind ChatGPT is simultaneously rolling out new emotional-safety features and navigating a growing wave of litigation. Here’s what both developments tell us about where AI companionship is headed. With over 900 million weekly users, ChatGPT has become one of the most significant mental health-adjacent products ever deployed, not by design, but by sheer scale. People confide in it, lean on it during difficult moments, and increasingly treat it as a first port of call for emotional support. That reality is now forcing OpenAI to reckon with two simultaneous pressures: building better safeguards, and defending itself in court