How to receive an SMS for OpenAI in four steps
Go to asms.ai and browse the list of available numbers. Each entry shows the country flag, the full number, and a count of recent messages. Choose a number whose inbox shows no recent OpenAI activity. OpenAI will reject a number that was verified too recently by another user, so a quiet inbox is a good sign.
Open a new tab and navigate to chat.openai.com or platform.openai.com. When the signup flow asks for a phone number, enter the number you selected, making sure to include the country dialling code (for example, +1 for a US number or +44 for a UK number). OpenAI will not send a code to a number entered without the correct prefix.
Click 'Send code' on the OpenAI side, then switch back to the asms.ai tab and refresh the number's inbox page. The six-digit code typically appears within ten to thirty seconds. Copy it and enter it into the OpenAI verification field before it expires, usually within five minutes.
Once verified, your OpenAI or ChatGPT account is active. You do not need to return to asms.ai, and the number stays available for others to use. If you are setting up API access on platform.openai.com, the exact same process covers the OpenAI phone number requirement during account creation.
Is it actually free? What is the catch?
There is no catch in the conventional sense. The numbers are free because they are shared and public. Anyone on the internet can visit that number's page and read every message it receives. That is the trade-off: you get a working phone number for ChatGPT verification at zero cost, and in return the inbox is visible to everyone. For a one-time code that expires in minutes, this is a perfectly reasonable arrangement.
You do not need to create an account on asms.ai, provide an email address, or hand over payment details. There is no trial period that converts to a subscription. The free tier has been genuinely free since the service launched as AnonymSMS. If you need a number that is private, meaning only you can read the messages, that is available as a paid option. But for a standard ChatGPT verification number used once during signup, the free shared numbers are exactly what the situation calls for.
Messages are wiped periodically to keep the inboxes readable. This is also why these numbers are not suitable for ongoing services that send recurring texts. They are built for exactly the use case OpenAI presents: receive one code, use it once, move on.
Why people use a virtual number for OpenAI and ChatGPT
The most common reason is privacy. OpenAI's terms allow one account per phone number, but there is no restriction on using a virtual number. Developers building on the OpenAI API often manage multiple accounts across different billing profiles or organisations, and a fresh phone number for ChatGPT is the simplest way to keep them separate. Researchers running evaluations, teams running QA environments, and solo builders with a staging and production account all run into this same need.
Another common scenario is regional unavailability. OpenAI only accepts numbers from certain countries. If your SIM is from an unsupported region, or if you are travelling and your number is tied to a country they do not currently accept, a US or UK number from asms.ai resolves the problem immediately. The same applies if you used your personal number for an OpenAI account that was later closed: that number may be locked out, and a fresh virtual number is the fastest workaround.
Some users simply want the separation. Registering with a real mobile number creates a traceable link between an account and a personal identity. For consumer use that often does not matter. For API usage, automated workflows, or any project where you would rather keep your footprint small, using a shared virtual number instead of your personal one is a sensible call.
Which services work with these numbers?
While this page focuses on receive SMS for OpenAI scenarios, the same numbers work for most platforms that send a one-time SMS code. Google, Microsoft, Telegram, Discord, Twitter/X, WhatsApp, and dozens of other services all accept virtual numbers for their initial verification step. Each number's inbox on asms.ai shows the recent message history, so a quick scan tells you whether that number has already been used for a particular service.
Some platforms have begun blocking known VoIP number ranges. asms.ai rotates and adds numbers regularly to maintain coverage. If a specific number does not receive a code within about a minute, switching to a different number is faster than waiting. The number list updates in real time and highlights which numbers are actively receiving messages.
For services that send recurring SMS, such as two-factor authentication codes you need every login, the public nature of shared numbers makes them unsuitable. Private numbers handle that use case. For a one-time ChatGPT verification number or any single-use signup code, the free numbers work cleanly.
Countries and number availability
Numbers are currently available from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Georgia, and Ukraine, with other countries added as coverage expands. US numbers are the most requested because OpenAI accepts them universally and the verification flow is straightforward. UK numbers work just as reliably and are the natural choice if you want a British number associated with your account.
German numbers are popular among users in the EU who want a geographically relevant number. Georgian and Ukrainian numbers tend to have lighter traffic and often receive codes faster, simply because fewer people are using them at any given moment. If speed is the priority, a number from one of the less busy countries is often the better pick.
New numbers are added daily. If the existing list looks heavily used for a particular service, returning a few hours later usually surfaces fresh options. The asms.ai team monitors coverage actively and removes numbers that have become unreliable.
Tips for getting a code quickly
Choose a number whose inbox shows no recent OpenAI messages. OpenAI ties a number to an account and will refuse to send a code to a number that has been verified too recently by someone else. A quick scan of the last few messages, each showing a timestamp, tells you what you need to know in seconds.
Enter the number in the correct format. OpenAI's form expects the full international format: +1 for the US, +44 for the UK, +49 for Germany, and so on. A number pasted without the plus sign and country code will not trigger a delivery.
Refresh the inbox page rather than navigating away. Most codes arrive within fifteen to thirty seconds. If nothing has appeared after ninety seconds, try a different number rather than continuing to wait. Carrier queues occasionally introduce delays that do not resolve within a few minutes, so moving to another number is almost always quicker than sitting it out.
If the number you tried has already been used for OpenAI very recently, the platform may show an error rather than sending a code at all. That is your cue to try a number from a different country, where the OpenAI request volume is lower and fresh numbers are easier to find.
Privacy and security: what you need to know
These are public, shared numbers. Every message sent to them is visible to every visitor on asms.ai. Do not use them for services that send sensitive personal or financial information: banking one-time passwords, medical notifications, or authentication codes for accounts holding payment data. The use case they are designed for is a short-lived numeric code with a tight expiry, which is exactly what OpenAI sends.
Because these numbers are public, it is theoretically possible for someone else to see the same code you are waiting for. In practice, codes expire in under five minutes and are single-use on OpenAI's side, so the exposure window is narrow and the code becomes worthless the moment you enter it.
If you want an inbox only you can see, asms.ai offers private numbers as a paid feature. For a one-off ChatGPT verification number during account creation, the free shared option is almost always sufficient.
The API and MCP server for developers
If your workflow requires receiving SMS codes programmatically, asms.ai provides a REST API and a native MCP server built for AI agents. The API lets you poll a number's inbox, filter by sender, and retrieve the latest message body without opening a browser. The MCP integration means AI coding assistants and autonomous agents can request and read verification codes as part of a larger automated pipeline.
These are premium features aimed at developers who need reliable, high-throughput access rather than occasional manual lookups. For personal one-off use, the free web interface is faster and simpler. For repeated programmatic verification across multiple accounts or services, the API removes the manual step entirely and makes the whole process scriptable.