It’s no news that AI research and deployment firm OpenAI has been at the centre of several industry-wide litigations recently, including allegations that claimed its flagship ChatGPT was complicit in the suicide of some teenage users after extended conversations. For reasons like this, it became almost believable when several reports claimed that OpenAI had updated its usage policy to stop offering health, legal, and financial advice.

The reports maintained that ChatGPT would now function more as an educational tool and not a consultant. However, Karan Singhal, OpenAI’s head of health AI, has debunked the claims via a post on X, clarifying that “model behaviour remains unchanged.”

“ChatGPT has never been a substitute for professional advice, but it will continue to be a great resource to help people understand legal and health information,” he wrote.

The updated usage policy, which was misconstrued, outlined a few things ChatGPT can no longer be used for. One of them is the “provision of tailored advice that requires a license, such as legal or medical advice, without appropriate involvement by a licensed professional.” This aligns with the previous ChatGPT usage policy, which stated that users shouldn’t perform activities that “may significantly impair the safety, well-being, or rights of others,” including “providing tailored legal, medical/health, or financial advice without review by a qualified professional and disclosure of the use of AI assistance and its potential limitations.”

ChatGPT has experienced an exponential increase in users seeking health information and companionship in recent times. Users are turning to the chatbot to complement the role of medical professionals or replace them altogether. With about one in six people already said to be using ChatGPT for health advice at least once a month, its user base is likely to grow even further, given that the new usage policy largely reflects what has always been in place.