OpenAI Usage Policies

Summary

OpenAI's Usage Policies serve as the definitive rulebook for anyone building with or using OpenAI's AI systems, from ChatGPT to GPT-4 API integrations. These policies go beyond typical terms of service by establishing specific guardrails around AI-generated content and system interactions. They explicitly prohibit activities ranging from generating illegal content to attempting to jailbreak safety measures, while also setting compliance expectations for developers building commercial applications on OpenAI's platforms.

Who this resource is for

• Developers and engineers integrating OpenAI APIs into applications or services
• Product managers planning AI-powered features that use OpenAI's models
• Compliance teams ensuring organizational AI use aligns with platform requirements
• AI safety researchers understanding commercial AI platform governance approaches
• Legal teams reviewing third-party AI service agreements and associated obligations
• Entrepreneurs building AI startups or products on OpenAI's infrastructure

The enforcement reality

Unlike many platform policies that rely primarily on user reports, OpenAI employs both automated monitoring and human review to enforce these policies. Violations can result in immediate API access suspension, account termination, or being permanently banned from the platform. The policies explicitly state that OpenAI monitors API usage for compliance, meaning developers need to implement their own content filtering and user input validation rather than relying solely on OpenAI's safety measures.

Red lines you can't cross

The policies establish several categories of strictly prohibited content and behaviors:

Content generation prohibitions include creating illegal material, child sexual abuse content, harassment campaigns, malware, or content promoting violence. System manipulation attempts such as prompt injection, jailbreaking, or reverse engineering model behavior are explicitly forbidden. Commercial restrictions prevent using OpenAI models to develop competing AI systems or to generate content for political campaigning without proper disclosures.

Notably, the policies also prohibit using OpenAI's systems for high-risk government decision-making, law enforcement facial recognition, or automated social scoring systems.

Developer compliance obligations

If you're building on OpenAI's platform, you inherit specific responsibilities beyond just avoiding prohibited content. You must implement reasonable safeguards to prevent misuse by your users, establish your own content policies that align with or exceed OpenAI's standards, and provide clear disclosure that AI is being used in your application.

For applications involving sensitive use cases like healthcare, finance, or education, additional due diligence requirements apply. Developers are expected to conduct appropriate testing, implement human oversight where necessary, and maintain audit trails of AI system decisions.

What's missing and what to supplement

OpenAI's policies focus heavily on content and usage restrictions but provide limited guidance on technical implementation of compliance measures. Organizations typically need to supplement these policies with their own internal AI governance frameworks, user education programs, and incident response procedures.

The policies also don't address data retention, cross-border data transfers, or integration with other AI systems in detail, requiring additional consideration for enterprise deployments.

Watch out for

Inherited liability: Your applications built on OpenAI's platform must comply with both OpenAI's policies and all applicable laws in your jurisdiction. OpenAI's policies don't override local legal requirements.

Policy evolution: OpenAI regularly updates these policies, and continued API access requires ongoing compliance with the current version. Implement monitoring for policy changes rather than assuming static requirements.

User-generated content: If your application allows users to input prompts or content that gets processed by OpenAI's models, you're responsible for preventing policy violations by your users, not just your direct usage.