ChatGPT New Features: GPT-6, Intelligent UI, Locked Chats and Everything New

OpenAI has rolled out a long list of ChatGPT updates in October 2026. The biggest is GPT-6 with Intelligent UI, which lets ChatGPT answer with interactive charts, forms and small tools instead of only text. It reached paying subscribers on October 7 and free users on October 8. Alongside it came locked chats, a presentation tool called Slides, new voices, virtual clothing try-on and a new model for work tasks.

This guide covers what each feature does, which plans get it and what is still unclear. Dates and plan details come from OpenAI’s ChatGPT release notes unless another source is named. We will update it as OpenAI adds features.

ChatGPT new features at a glance

GPT-6 and Intelligent UI: answers you can tap

Intelligent UI changes what a ChatGPT answer looks like. A response can now mix text with graphics, tappable buttons, forms, charts and diagrams, and ChatGPT can build small single-use tools on the spot, such as a bill splitter or a calculator, MacRumors reported from OpenAI’s GPT-6 announcement. One of OpenAI’s examples is a recipe card that recalculates ingredient amounts when you change the number of guests.

“ChatGPT has predominantly been a text-based interface,” Aarush Selvan, a product manager at OpenAI, told TechCrunch, adding that “the most helpful answers aren’t just text.” Other examples OpenAI showed included diagrams explaining how an airplane wing generates lift, a map for a multi-day hike and a personal savings calculator.

If you prefer plain answers, you can reduce how many visuals ChatGPT uses, in the same way as its other personality settings, according to TechCrunch.

GPT-6 can also begin answering before it has finished reasoning or using tools, which OpenAI says makes responses faster.

Which GPT-6 model you get depends on your plan:

• Free and Go: GPT-6 Luna
• Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise: GPT-6 Sol
• Pro reasoning: uses GPT-6 Astra, which does not support Intelligent UI

GPT-6 applies only to the Chat tab. The models used in ChatGPT Work and Codex did not change with this release.

Locked chats: hide a conversation behind a PIN

Locked chats, rolling out gradually since October 20, let you keep a conversation in your account while removing it from your regular chat history, pinned chats and search. Opening a locked chat requires a four-digit PIN, or Face ID or Touch ID on supported devices. To lock a chat, open its ••• menu.

It works on the web, iOS, Android and the new ChatGPT desktop app for macOS and Windows. It is coming to the Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans, TechCrunch reported, but not to ChatGPT for Healthcare. It isn’t available for temporary, archived, group or shared-link chats, chats with scheduled tasks or chats with meeting recordings.

Two limits matter before you rely on it:

• It is not encryption. Locking a chat doesn’t turn on end-to-end encryption or create an encrypted vault, and it doesn’t change data retention or the “Improve the model for everyone” setting. It mainly stops someone using your unlocked phone or computer from reading the chat.
• A forgotten PIN can’t be recovered. Resetting the PIN permanently deletes all locked chats and the files in them.

ChatGPT Slides: presentations inside ChatGPT

ChatGPT Slides, which began rolling out on October 16, creates presentations and lets you keep editing them with your team in Space, OpenAI’s shared workspace. On the web, decks can be exported to PowerPoint, PDF or Google Slides. It is available to eligible Pro, Business and Enterprise users who have Space access, on the web and in the desktop app. OpenAI has not said when it will reach Plus, Go or Free users.

GPT-6 Pro now runs agents in parallel

For eligible Pro subscribers, GPT-6 Pro in the Chat tab was updated on October 16 with faster responses and better tool use. It can now split a task among several agents that work in parallel, and you can follow their progress in the conversation.

New ChatGPT voices with GPT-Live-1.1

ChatGPT Voice moved to the GPT-Live-1.1 and GPT-Live-1.1 Quip models on October 15. OpenAI says they produce more natural accents. New voices were added in French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Mexican Spanish, plus a new English voice called Bubbie. You can choose a voice in Settings > Voice.

This follows a September 23 update that lets Voice use plugins on the web, iOS and Android.

Virtual try-on and Favorites for shopping

On October 1, OpenAI announced the global launch of two shopping features, according to TechCrunch. A Try on button now appears on clothing and accessory listings in ChatGPT. Take or upload a selfie or full-body photo and ChatGPT generates an image of you wearing the item. You can also upload a screenshot of an item from another store and ask ChatGPT to try it on you. The feature uses the ChatGPT Images 2.5 model.

Your reference photo is saved for later try-ons and can be changed in Settings. A new Favorites option saves products to your library, in folders if you like. Both features work on mobile and the web.

A generated preview is a rough guide: it can’t tell you whether an item will fit, so check the seller’s size chart and return policy before buying.

Smaller ChatGPT updates worth knowing

• Audio uploads (October 6): Paid subscribers can upload audio files to get a transcript, a summary or answers about a recording. Availability varies by workspace, region, app version and model.
• Multi-page scanning (October 1, iOS, rolling out): The camera’s Scan option combines several pages into one PDF.
• Flashcards (September 22, all plans): ChatGPT can turn a topic or your notes into flashcards that you flip, mark as known or missed, shuffle and save, on mobile and the web.
• Security history (September 25): Under Settings > Security and login on the web, you can see recent sign-ins, sign-outs and changes to multi-factor authentication, passkeys and security settings.
• Finances (October 2, U.S. only): The tool for connecting financial accounts to get help with spending, savings and investments has expanded to Free and Go users in the United States.

New features for work and coding

On October 26, OpenAI began rolling out GPT-6.1 Terra in ChatGPT Work and Codex for Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu users. OpenAI says the model handles visual reasoning, computer use and writing, and that plan usage limits are unchanged. Some Plus and Pro users may see Terra instead of Sol in their default presets.

Codex, OpenAI’s coding agent, also gained a beta feature on October 9 for personal Pro users aged 18 and over in the desktop app. It suggests your next message, which you accept with the Tab key; accepting a suggestion doesn’t send it.

More AI news and coverage of OpenAI and ChatGPT is on VulnTech News.

What’s free, and what needs a paid plan

Free users get GPT-6 Luna with Intelligent UI, locked chats and, based on OpenAI’s description of a global launch, the shopping try-on. Slides, GPT-6 Pro, audio uploads and GPT-6.1 Terra all require a paid plan. Several features are rolling out gradually, so they may take days or weeks to appear on every account, even on an eligible plan.

Why these ChatGPT updates matter

Analysis: Two shifts stand out. First, Intelligent UI moves ChatGPT away from the mostly text format it has relied on. Answers that include a working calculator or an adjustable recipe are closer to small apps than to replies. That could make ChatGPT easier to use for people who find long text answers hard to follow, though OpenAI has not published data on whether people prefer it.

Second, the gap between free and paid ChatGPT is now as much about tools as about model quality. Free users get a capable default model, but presentation-building, parallel agents and new work models stay behind paid plans, and some, like Slides, are limited to higher tiers for now.

What we don’t know yet

OpenAI has not said when Slides will reach Plus or Free users, or whether Finances will expand beyond the United States. Rollouts are gradual, and OpenAI’s release notes don’t list a completion date for locked chats, multi-page scanning or Slides. We will update this page as those details are confirmed.