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This page describes what the document states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability may vary by jurisdiction. Methodology
OpenAI's Services Agreement sets the terms for using ChatGPT, the API, and other OpenAI products, covering account creation, acceptable use, content rights, payment, and dispute resolution. The agreement grants OpenAI a license to use content users submit to operate and improve its services, and it requires most disputes to proceed through individual binding arbitration rather than court, with a 30-day window to opt out of that requirement after account creation. Users under 13 are prohibited from using the services, and users between 13 and 18 must have parental consent.
This document is OpenAI's Services Agreement governing consumer and business use of OpenAI's services, including ChatGPT, the API, and related products, on the legal basis of contract formation upon account creation or continued use. The agreement states that users grant OpenAI a broad license to use input content to provide, maintain, and improve services, and the terms authorize OpenAI to modify, suspend, or terminate accounts at its discretion, with or without notice, for violations of usage policies. The agreement asserts a mutual arbitration requirement with a 30-day opt-out window, a class action waiver, and a limitation of liability capping OpenAI's exposure at the greater of amounts paid in the prior 12 months or $100, provisions that are operationally significant but whose enforceability may vary by jurisdiction, particularly in the EU where consumer protection law may constrain mandatory arbitration and liability caps. The agreement engages the EU AI Act, GDPR, CCPA, COPPA (the terms prohibit use by those under 13 and require parental consent for those under 18), and FTC Act consumer protection principles; compliance exposure is heightened for EU/EEA users and California residents, and for operators deploying OpenAI services to third-party end users.
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Start Compliance free trial2 important changes detected
3 versions captured · Last updated: May 2026
This addition formally incorporates external usage policies into the binding Terms by reference, expanding enforceable obligations beyond the main document without requiring explicit restatement.
This addition establishes automatic renewal terms that bind users to ongoing charges absent affirmative cancellation, creating a significant financial obligation.
Removal of explicit notice provision and consolidation into broader 'Unilateral Service Modification' language reduces transparency about service disruption procedures.
Removal of this standalone provision eliminates explicit notice procedures for material changes to Terms, though similar language may be incorporated elsewhere.
Removal of explicit accuracy disclaimers and professional advice warnings reduces OpenAI's stated liability exposure for unreliable or harmful service outputs.
This separate provision was consolidated into a renamed 'Indemnification Obligation' with narrower scope in the current version.
Removed specific reference to small claims court exception and AAA arbitration rules, replacing with generic reference to undefined 'Exceptions to Agreement to Arbitrate' section and broadening scope to include disputes about the arbitration clause itself.
Simplified the provision by removing the arbitrator consolidation restriction, the severability clause, and enforceability carve-out provisions.
Narrowed scope by removing rights to 'distribute,' 'create derivative works,' 'develop the Services,' and 'comply with applicable law'; added 'store' and 'display'; replaced 'inputs and outputs' with 'Content'; and restricted use to 'solely' providing, maintaining, and improving Services.
Expanded liability exclusions to explicitly include affiliates, employees, and agents; added specific exclusions for 'loss of profits or revenues' and 'loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses'; removed the specific $100 minimum cap and 12-month lookback period language (text appears truncated in current version).
Removed the third sentence holding parents/guardians liable for their child's activity on the Services, significantly reducing parental responsibility provisions.
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