ChatGPT adds location sharing
ChatGPT added location sharing on iOS and web to deliver tailored recommendations, with Android support coming later — a new route for apps to surface local context through LLMs. That change opens conversational channels for place-based suggestions, reservations, and last‑mile intent signals. (x.com)
OpenAI published release notes showing the location-sharing change in its March 25, 2026 ChatGPT update and listed it among the new consumer-facing features rolled out that day. (help.openai.com) The company says precise location data is deleted after it’s used to generate a response, but any location-specific content (names, maps, recommendations) that appears in chat text will remain in the conversation history unless the user deletes it. (help.openai.com) OpenAI’s help docs explain ChatGPT uses approximate location derived from IP and connection metadata by default and will not access device GPS unless a user explicitly enables device location sharing in settings. (help.openai.com) For search functionality, OpenAI confirms ChatGPT may send disassociated search queries plus an approximate user location (derived from IP) to third‑party providers such as Bing to improve result accuracy, while not sharing the raw IP address itself. (help.openai.com) Developer guidance on the Apps SDK and Model Context Protocol shows how third‑party apps can pass local context and embed interactive elements like maps, carousels, and forms into GPT-powered experiences to enable place-based actions. (developers.openai.com) OpenTable’s prior integration with ChatGPT — which lets the assistant recommend restaurants and surface booking links — provides a concrete precedent for in-chat reservations and last‑mile intent signals that location sharing can amplify. (restaurantbusinessonline.com)
