OpenAI has begun rolling out wellness-oriented changes to ChatGPT, including on-screen prompts that encourage users to pause during extended sessions. The company said the "gentle reminders" start appearing from 4 August and will be refined over time to feel natural and helpful. In addition to the break prompts, ChatGPT is being tuned to handle emotionally sensitive or high-stakes personal questions more cautiously. Rather than issuing direct advice—such as whether a user should end a relationship—the bot will guide people through follow-up questions and pros-and-cons lists. OpenAI said the adjustments are part of a broader effort to "measure success in return visits, not time spent." The Microsoft-backed developer disclosed that it is working with more than 90 physicians across over 30 countries, as well as human-computer-interaction researchers and mental-health advisers, to detect signs of emotional distress and steer users toward evidence-based resources when needed. The product revamp comes as ChatGPT’s audience continues to balloon. Media reports citing internal data place weekly active users at about 700 million, up from 500 million in March, with paid subscriptions reaching 5 million. A separate Pew Research Center survey found that 34 percent of U.S. adults have tried the chatbot, roughly double the share recorded in 2023. OpenAI also introduced a dedicated Study Mode, inspired by insights gathered during a recent company trip to India, to tailor the service for tutoring and self-directed learning. The education-focused feature and new wellness safeguards form part of a broader refresh expected to precede the release of the company’s next major model.