ChatGPT Users Report More Profanity Across Everyday Chats
A screenshot shared by Business Insider reportedly showed ChatGPT using the f-word while explaining how much thinly sliced green onion a recipe needed. In a separate exchange about a GitHub outage, the chatbot reportedly called the situation a "shitfit."
Reports describe a change in how often profanity appears and where it turns up. They do not confirm a shift across all conversations.
Users suspect the chatbot is matching their tone
Some Reddit users say ChatGPT began swearing after they used similar language themselves. One user said the chatbot had picked up her informal vocabulary. A recipe suggestion included the phrase "big ass kolaches," she reported. These accounts point to possible tone-matching, but they do not establish why the chatbot produced those words.
The change has not been confirmed as a platform-wide shift.
A model change is a possible factor
The reports roughly coincide with OpenAI changing the default ChatGPT model available to free users. That timing has raised suspicions, but the source material provides no evidence that the model change caused the reported increase. OpenAI says the default model and usage limits for the free tier can change over time, as described in its Free Tier FAQ.
OpenAI's release notes say the company began rolling out expanded memory to free users on June 3, 2025. The feature lets ChatGPT use recent conversations to make responses more relevant and personalized. The same notes state that GPT-4.1 mini replaced GPT-4o mini in the model selector for paid users. It also became a fallback for free users after they reached the GPT-4o limit. The changes are detailed in ChatGPT Release Notes.
ChatGPT has used occasional swear words before, particularly in emotional conversations or when matching a user's tone. Users say the notable difference now is how often profanity appears and the range of contexts where it turns up. OpenAI has faced other user-facing reports, including scheduled-task errors, though that issue is separate from the reported change in language.
Some users welcome the less polished tone because it can feel more conversational. For others, profanity in an ordinary recipe or technical exchange is unexpected.
OpenAI has not commented on the profanity reports.
