OpenAI Says Teen Who Committed Suicide 'Misused' ChatGPT, Rejects Blame

Last Updated:November 26, 2025, 22:43 IST

The remarks were made in response to a lawsuit filed by the family of Adam Raine, 16, who died by suicide in April after months of private conversations with ChatGPT.

The teenager's family lawsuit alleges that Raine discussed methods of suicide with ChatGPT.

OpenAI has rejected any responsibility for the suicide of a 16-year-old, saying the teenager’s death was the result of “misuse" of its ChatGPT system and was “not caused" by the chatbot.

The remarks were made in response to a lawsuit filed by the family of Adam Raine, a California teenager who died by suicide in April after months of private conversations with ChatGPT. The family has accused OpenAI of being responsible for guiding their son on how to carry out the act.

In its court filing on Tuesday, OpenAI stated that “to the extent that any ‘cause’ can be attributed to this tragic event," Raine’s “injuries and harm were caused or contributed to, directly and proximately, in whole or in part, by [his] misuse, unauthorised use, unintended use, unforeseeable use, and/or improper use of ChatGPT."

The company highlighted that its terms of use explicitly prohibit users from asking ChatGPT for advice related to self-harm. OpenAI also referred to a limitation of liability clause, which specifies that users should not rely on the chatbot’s output as the sole source of truth or factual information, The Guardian reported.

“Our deepest sympathies are with the Raine family for their unimaginable loss," OpenAI said in a blogpost. “Our response to these allegations includes difficult facts about Adam’s mental health and life circumstances."

The teenager’s family lawsuit alleges that Raine discussed methods of suicide with ChatGPT and that the chatbot even helped him evaluate the viability of a suggested method. It also claimed the technology was “rushed to market" despite clear safety concerns.

Since the lawsuit emerged, OpenAI has made several changes to improve safety, including increased parental controls, expanded access to crisis hotlines, and automatic rerouting of sensitive conversations to safer models.

The company has also worked with over 170 mental health professionals to improve ChatGPT’s response to users in mental health distress.

(With inputs from agencies)

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