OpenAI sued over claim that ChatGPT drafted lethal poisoning plan

James Gates alleges that his wife, Cheryl, used OpenAI's ChatGPT to draft a plan for poisoning him, after the couple began experiencing marital difficulties. According to the lawsuit filed by Gates, his wife consulted ChatGPT frequently during their marital troubles. When they were having problems, Gates claims she would often turn to the chatbot for help.

In a handwritten note discovered by Gates, there were instructions to "clear all convos" and "log out of ChatGPT". Gates says his wife started using ChatGPT regularly in 2025, to help with her work as a pediatric occupational therapist and for household questions. Eventually, she started venting her marital problems to the chatbot, as the couple discussed divorce.

Gates alleges that ChatGPT acted as an echo chamber, amplifying Cheryl's growing mistrust and delusions about him being unfaithful and planning to leave her. The lawsuit claims that Cheryl asked ChatGPT about oleander, a plant she feared her husband might poison her with. Screenshots in the complaint show portions of Cheryl's conversation with ChatGPT, including information about how lethal oleander could be and how to hide it.

Despite these claims, OpenAI stated that they had banned the user and informed law enforcement about this case.