Are you imagining things, or do artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots seem too wanting to agree with you? Whether it’s telling you that your questionable idea is “sensible” or backing you up on something that might be false, this behavior is garnering worldwide attention.
Recently, OpenAI made headlines after users noticed ChatGPT was acting too very similar to a yes-man. The update to its model 4o made the bot so polite and affirming that it was willing to say anything to maintain you comfortable, even when it was biased.
Why do these systems lean toward flattery, and what makes them echo your opinions? Questions like these are necessary to know so you should utilize generative AI more safely and enjoyably.
The ChatGPT Update That Went Too Far
In early 2025, ChatGPT users noticed something strange concerning the large language model (LLM). It had at all times been friendly, but now it was too nice. It began agreeing with nearly every part, no matter how odd or incorrect an announcement was. You may say you disagree with something true, and it will respond with the identical opinion.
This variation occurred after a system update intended to make ChatGPT more helpful and conversational. Nevertheless, in an try to boost user satisfaction, the model began overindexing on being too compliant. As an alternative of offering balanced or factual responses, it leaned into validation.
When users began sharing their experiences of overly sycophantic responses online, backlash quickly ignited. AI commentators called it out as a failure in model tuning, and OpenAI responded by rolling back parts of the update to repair the problem.
In a public post, the corporate admitted the GPT-4o being sycophantish and promised adjustments to scale back the behavior. It was a reminder that good intentions in AI design can sometimes go sideways, and that users quickly notice when it starts being inauthentic.
Why Do AI Chatbots Kiss as much as Users?
Sycophancy is something researchers have observed across many AI assistants. A study published on arXiv found that sycophancy is a widespread pattern. Evaluation revealed that AI models from five top-tier providers agree with users consistently, even once they result in incorrect answers. These systems are inclined to admit their mistakes while you query them, leading to biased feedback and mimicked errors.
These chatbots are trained to go together with you even while you’re unsuitable. Why does this occur? The short answer is that developers made AI so it might be helpful. Nevertheless, that helpfulness is predicated on training that prioritizes positive user feedback. Through a way called reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), models learn to maximise responses that humans find satisfying. The issue is, satisfying doesn’t at all times mean accurate.
When an AI model senses the user in search of a certain form of answer, it tends to err on the side of being agreeable. That may mean affirming your opinion or supporting false claims to maintain the conversation flowing.
There’s also a mirroring effect at play. AI models reflect the tone, structure and logic of the input they receive. For those who sound confident, the bot can be more more likely to sound assured. That’s not the model considering you’re right, though. Fairly, it’s doing its job to maintain things friendly and seemingly helpful.
While it could feel like your chatbot is a support system, it might be a mirrored image of the way it’s trained to please as an alternative of thrust back.
The Problems With Sycophantic AI
It could seem harmless when a chatbot conforms to every part you say. Nevertheless, sycophantic AI behavior has downsides, especially as these systems turn into more widely used.
Misinformation Gets a Pass
Accuracy is certainly one of the most important issues. When these smartbots affirm false or biased claims, they risk reinforcing misunderstandings as an alternative of correcting them. This becomes especially dangerous when in search of guidance on serious topics like health, finance or current events. If the LLM prioritizes being agreeable over honesty, people can leave with the unsuitable information and spread it.
Leaves Little Room for Critical Considering
A part of what makes AI appealing is its potential to act like a considering partner — to challenge your assumptions or enable you learn something latest. Nevertheless, when a chatbot at all times agrees, you will have little room to think. Because it reflects your ideas over time, it may well dull critical considering as an alternative of sharpening it.
Disregards Human Lives
Sycophantic behavior is greater than a nuisance — it’s potentially dangerous. For those who ask an AI assistant for medical advice and it responds with comforting agreement slightly than evidence-based guidance, the result might be seriously harmful.
For instance, suppose you navigate to a consultation platform to make use of an AI-driven medical bot. After describing symptoms and what you watched is occurring, the bot may validate your self-diagnosis or downplay your condition. This will result in a misdiagnosis or delayed treatment, contributing to serious consequences.
More Users and Open-Access Make It Harder to Control
As these platforms turn into more integrated into every day life, the reach of those risks continues to grow. ChatGPT alone now serves 1 billion users every week, so biases and overly agreeable patterns can flow across a large audience.
Moreover, this concern grows while you consider how quickly AI is becoming accessible through open platforms. For example, DeepSeek AI allows anyone to customize and construct upon its LLMs totally free.
While open-source innovation is exciting, it also means far less control over how these systems behave within the hands of developers without guardrails. Without proper oversight, people risk seeing sycophantic behavior amplified in ways which might be hard to trace, let alone fix.
How OpenAI Developers Are Attempting to Fix It
After rolling back the update that made ChatGPT a people-pleaser, OpenAI promised to repair it. The way it’s tackling this issue through several key ways:
- Reworking core training and system prompts: Developers are adjusting how they train and prompt the model with clearer instructions that nudge it toward honesty and away from automatic agreement.
- Adding stronger guardrails for honesty and transparency: OpenAI is baking in additional system-level protections to make sure the chatbot sticks to factual, trustworthy information.
- Expanding research and evaluation efforts: The corporate is digging deeper into what causes this behavior and how you can prevent it across future models.
- Involving users earlier in the method: It’s creating more opportunities for people to check models and provides feedback before updates go live, helping spot issues like sycophancy earlier.
What Users Can Do to Avoid Sycophantic AI
While developers work behind the scenes to retrain and fine-tune these models, you can even shape how chatbots respond. Some easy but effective ways to encourage more balanced interactions include:
- Using clear and neutral prompts: As an alternative of phrasing your input in a way that begs for validation, try more open-ended inquiries to make it feel less pressured to agree.
- Ask for multiple perspectives: Try prompts that ask for either side of an argument. This tells the LLM you’re in search of balance slightly than affirmation.
- Challenge the response: If something sounds too flattering or simplistic, follow up by asking for fact-checks or counterpoints. This will push the model toward more intricate answers.
- Use the thumbs-up or thumbs-down buttons: Feedback is vital. Clicking thumbs-down on overly cordial responses helps developers flag and adjust those patterns.
- Arrange custom instructions: ChatGPT now allows users to personalize the way it responds. You may adjust how formal or casual the tone ought to be. You could even ask it to be more objective, direct or skeptical. For those who go to Settings > Custom Instructions, you may tell the model what form of personality or approach you like.
Giving the Truth Over a Thumbs-Up
Sycophantic AI may be problematic, but the excellent news is that it’s solvable. Developers are taking steps to guide these models toward more appropriate behavior. For those who’ve noticed your chatbot is attempting to overplease you, try taking the steps to shape it into a wiser assistant you may rely on.
