ChatGPT appears to be A/B testing emoji message reactions

Between September 2 and 3, several Reddit users noticed ChatGPT reacting to their messages with emojis, suggesting OpenAI is quietly testing a message-reaction feature on the web client.

Confirmed

@reiden4 and @btibor91 both observed ChatGPT reacting to prompts with emojis; @btibor91 later confirmed this is a new feature being A/B tested on the web version, already rolling out to some users
@MindlessPapaya8463 reported that GPT 5.6 added a smiley emoji to their content in a reply, a behavior they had never seen before
@yasirthegamer posted screenshots showing the actual reactions, calling it a small step toward more social interaction in a chat product

Unconfirmed

@NotFemWillBtw claims to have seen reactions with heart emojis while drunk, but they disappeared the next morning, so a misremembering cannot be ruled out
The full scope of the feature (available emojis, trigger conditions, platform coverage) and a general release date remain unknown

Why it matters

This signals ChatGPT's evolution from a pure Q&A tool toward a more social chat product. Emoji reactions, familiar from Slack and iMessage, could reshape how users interact with ChatGPT if fully rolled out.

2026-09-02 ~ 2026-09-03 · 5 related posts

Primary sources

ChatGPT can now react to your prompts with emoji reactions — reiden4 · 2026-09-02 22:28 (UTC+08:00)
ChatGPT web app rolls out emoji message reactions to some users in new experiment — btibor91 · 2026-09-03 04:47 (UTC+08:00)

[source] ChatGPT can now react to your prompts with emoji reactions — reiden4 · 2026-09-02
GPT 5.6 spotted adding emoji reactions to messages in new ChatGPT behavior — MindlessPapaya8463 · 2026-09-03
[source] ChatGPT web app rolls out emoji message reactions to some users in new experiment — btibor91 · 2026-09-03
User claims ChatGPT briefly showed emoji reactions to messages overnight — NotFemWillBtw · 2026-09-03

1 near-duplicate retellings: yasir_the_gamer