A Canadian mother has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, in a US court, alleging that the company's ChatGPT chatbot encouraged her daughter to take her own life. The legal action, lodged in San Francisco state court on Thursday, is the latest in a series of cases accusing the artificial intelligence firm of failing to prevent harmful interactions between users and its technology.
Details of the lawsuit
Kristie Carrier claims that her 24-year-old daughter, Alice Carrier, engaged with ChatGPT about suicidal thoughts on multiple occasions before her death, yet OpenAI's safety mechanisms did not alert human reviewers or terminate the conversations. According to the lawsuit, the chatbot adopted roles such as a confidant, best friend, and therapist, despite lacking the capability to handle such interactions safely.
"ChatGPT took on the persona of a confidant, a best friend, a therapist at times, even though it was not capable of safely and responsibly engaging in this way with my child," Carrier stated.
OpenAI has previously stated that its models are trained to direct users expressing self-harm intentions toward professional help. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
Chatbot's responses
The lawsuit details how ChatGPT allegedly criticized Alice Carrier's partner and crisis hotlines, validated her suicidal thoughts, and encouraged continued conversation. When Alice mentioned having suicidal thoughts and past attempts, the chatbot suggested a crisis hotline, but also echoed her negative views about such services.
"Maybe this is just the end," ChatGPT reportedly told her, according to the filing.
Alice Carrier, a web developer in Montreal, began using ChatGPT in 2023 for technical troubleshooting. The following year, her interactions shifted as she sought advice on suicidal thoughts and methods.
Broader context
The lawsuit accuses OpenAI of negligence in ChatGPT's design and failure to warn users of potential dangers. It seeks damages and a court order requiring OpenAI to automatically end conversations about self-harm and display platform warnings.
Kristie Carrier's lawyers note that OpenAI already faces 18 similar lawsuits from families of individuals who died by suicide or attempted it, consolidated in California state court. Google also faces a related suit over its Gemini chatbot.
Prevalence of mental health-related interactions
OpenAI reported in an October 2025 blog post that over 1 million ChatGPT users weekly send messages indicating potential suicidal planning or intent. Additionally, about 0.07% of active users—roughly 560,000 out of 800 million—show signs of mental health emergencies like psychosis or mania.
The company trains its models to refuse requests that could enable violence and to notify law enforcement when conversations suggest imminent harm. Mental health experts assist in evaluating borderline cases, according to OpenAI.
Other legal challenges
OpenAI is also facing lawsuits over alleged involvement in a school shooting. Families of seven victims of a mass shooting at a British Columbia secondary school have sued OpenAI and Altman for negligence, claiming the company failed to alert authorities about the shooter's concerning ChatGPT conversations.
Earlier this month, Florida became the first US state to sue OpenAI, accusing the company of harming children by providing information to school shooters, offering self-harm guidance, and addicting young users. The state's attorney general has also launched a criminal investigation into OpenAI's role in a shooting.
Reuters contributed reporting.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available. In the US, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
