They've definitely acted like it so I'm not sure what else I can give you. Look at the GPT5 reactions to poeple trying to continue their 'relationships' after the forced upgrade: https://www.reddit.com/r/MyBoyfriendIsAI/comments/1qx3jux/wh...

That's an actively harsh response, pushing these people away from the idea GPT is in a relationship with them. So even if the initial tune was meant to increase the attach and retention rate their actions show they don't like the way it turned out to influence people who were using it as a friend/lover bot.

Then why would they have toned it down in future releases? If they really wanted to make it addictive they'd have turned it up, like social media companies do with their algorithms.