OpenAI’s own support bot doesn’t know how ChatGPT works

Follow ZDNET: Add us as a favorite source On Google.

ZDNET Highlights

• The support bot of the ChatGPT app confuses the features of the program.
• OpenAI currently has no in-app bug reporting, which is a serious omission.
• Recent chats show that the support bot has become more knowledgeable.

One of the early successes that companies have noted in implementing artificial intelligence in the enterprise is in customer-facing functions such as customer support.

If OpenAI’s own automated customer support is the future, customers are in for a tough time.

Too: How to Use ChatGPT: A Beginner’s Guide to the Most Popular AI Chatbot

OpenAI’s automated support function inside its ChatGPT app displays a surprising lack of knowledge of the application’s features, something I discovered when I went looking for help with a bug in the app.

(Disclosure: ZDNET’s parent company Ziff Davis filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.)

My search started with a bug in the iPad Pro version chatgpt appI was using a subscription version of ChatGPT, the Plus version, which I pay for $21.78 per monthAfter using the app for several months without any problems, I suddenly noticed that the app’s window was freezing due to resizing.

A little bug and a nightmare support chat

On an 11-inch or 13-inch iPad Pro, running any version of iOS that can multitask, you can have the ChatGPT app in one of four possible window sizes, from a very narrow window to one slightly larger that is similar to the phone version of the app, to two larger sizes, including a full-screen window.

I found that resizing the window to either full-screen or just below that, where a bit of the home screen is visible, caused the app to become completely unresponsive. None of the touch functions produced any response, and even the app’s interface elements – text, borders, prompt fields – were stretched such that the app couldn’t refresh them to accommodate changes in window size.

I was able to reliably recreate the problem every time I resized the app, and I was able to reliably duplicate the problem on another iPad Pro.

I went to the help section of the app, called Help Center, which you can find under your account information in the bottom left corner of the app’s sidebar. None of the help articles were of any help, so I decided to try the chat function that comes in the Help Center.

Also: Minority businesses have won big with AI. What are they doing right?

The automated bot run by ChatGPT suggested several steps that did not help, such as force quitting the app and reopening it, and deleting the app and reinstalling it from the Apple App Store.

And, then, the support bot suddenly started hallucinating something that doesn’t exist in the app.

“Send feedback in the app,” it suggested. “You can report this bug directly from within the ChatGPT app (usually under Account or Support > Report an Issue/Send Feedback). This helps developers get the logs and may speed up resolution.”

“Normally,” perhaps, but not in this case. There is no “Report a Problem” or “Send Feedback” section of the Help Center. it does not exist.

There is a function called “Report” that can be selected from the menu in the upper-right corner, inside the current chat, which is not for bug reports. This function is for reporting current chat issues, such as, “Violence and self-harm,” or “Illegal activity.”

Too: How people actually use ChatGPT vs the cloud – and what the differences tell us

I pointed this out to the bot, who, in the agreeable tone for which ChatGPT is famous, acknowledged that it wasn’t really a means of bug reporting. “Thanks for pointing this out – you are correct. The ChatGPT iPad app currently only allows reporting of individual messages or chats.”

(By the way, if you log in again from the Support Center, you can view your support chat history from the Chats window in the Help Center. It’s best to log in before engaging in any support chat, so that you can retrieve the record of the support chat later.)

Automated email support was just as bad

After this I emailed the support function OpenAI Developer Forumsupport@openai.com, and described your problem again.

In a series of automated emails, after describing the problem, the support function repeated the same advice as the in-app support bot, asking me to “report this bug directly from within the ChatGPT app (usually under Account or Support > Report a Problem/Send Feedback),” adding, “This helps developers get the logs and may speed up resolution.”

When I protested, the automated email again acknowledged the error and told me, “Thanks for pointing this out – you’re right.”

I contacted OpenAI – a human spokesperson – and received confirmation via email that there is no bug reporting function:

We do not currently provide a dedicated consumer-facing bug reporting portal for the ChatGPT app. People can find troubleshooting steps and ways to share feedback through our official Help Center help.openai.com,
For security issues, we have a formal bug bounty program through BugCrowd: https://bugcrowd.com/engagements/openaiYou can also provide feedback directly into the product – for example, by ignoring responses that aren’t helpful or by reporting conversations that don’t meet your expectations. We’re working to make automated support replies more accurate and effective. (There is a “bug bounty” for developers, but it is not the same as bug reporting or feature requests by average users.)

The lack of bug reporting is surprising, as it is a standard offering with most software.

Also: Even the best AI agents fail with this protocol – what can be done

More intriguing is the fact that OpenAI’s bots, which were presumably trained on the company’s vast collection of development documents, did not have the correct facts about the app’s features.

If this is the state of customer support via AI, then it is not only not a solution, it makes user frustration even worse.

A tiny ray of hope?

In my tests, the original bug persists with the latest app release, version 1.2025.280. Through experimentation, I found that the only answer is to not maximize the app window.

Also: I Created a Business Plan with ChatGPT and It Turned Into a Cautionary Tale

Interestingly, in my follow-up tests, the app’s support bot no longer held the illusion that I could report a bug. Instead, it already states that there is no way to report bugs in the app and asks for details of the problem that can be sent to the developers. The bot has finally learned something about the app it is living inside.

I believe that is progress at least.

Get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning Tech Today Newsletter,