OpenAI Rolls Out ChatGPT for Teens With Enhanced Safeguards Amid Growing AI Safety Concerns

ChatGPT is getting a dedicated mode for teens

OpenAI is introducing a dedicated ChatGPT mode for teenagers, combining existing youth safeguards and new safety features under one roof. The launch comes amid mounting public scrutiny over how AI tools affect younger users, as other platforms implement their own age checks and teen-specific protections. ChatGPT for Teens is "an experience designed to help teens learn, think critically, deepen understanding, and use AI with confidence," OpenAI said in a blog post published Tuesday. Teen mode will automatically apply to users who identify themselves as being between the ages of 13 and 17, as well as those the system estimates to be under 18. Children under 13 aren't permitted to use the platform, according to OpenAI's published age policy. The teen experience will apply protections by default, including tighter restrictions on prohibited or sensitive content including graphic violence, depictions of self-harm, and sexual or romantic roleplay. It will also surface warnings and safety information around topics such as eating disorders, while giving parents controls to set quiet hours and receive notifications about safety alerts if the system flags a possible safety risk. Other features are aimed at encouraging what OpenAI describes as "healthy, balanced use," including reminders around sensitive image uploads, teen-specific onboarding, and customization options such as accent colors and voice variations. OpenAI is also adding new "responsible homework reminders," which it says can recognize when a teen appears to be "trying to shortcut an assignment" and redirect them to ChatGPT's dedicated study mode. Teens or parents can also set "study hours" that automatically enable study mode during designated times. Though OpenAI is framing this as a new teen-focused ChatGPT experience, many of the protections it describes aren't new, with the launch largely consolidating existing safeguards alongside a handful of smaller additions and tweaks. OpenAI rolled out age-prediction features at the start of the year, while parental controls and study mode arrived roughly a year ago. The company said it would show teens more frequent break reminders last month . OpenAI said its teen protections are "underpinned by ongoing safety research" and that it plans to publish more of "what we are learning" in the future, as well as build additional safety features to help teens benefit from AI. "But that access should come with protections that reflect their developmental stage, reinforce real-world relationships, and support healthy use over time. ChatGPT for Teens is our next step in building toward that standard."

OpenAI limits teens to dedicated version of ChatGPT promising more safeguards

OpenAI will restrict teenagers to a new version of ChatGPT with greater mental health safeguards and features to encourage critical thinking as it seeks to respond to a backlash over the effects of AI on young people. The $852bn start-up will roll out the dedicated ChatGPT for 13- to 17-year-olds globally starting on Tuesday, with stricter controls around image generation and content regarding self-harm, violence, eating disorders and sex. The move comes as OpenAI faces multiple lawsuits from families who claim their children were harmed by using ChatGPT as it gears up for a potentially record-breaking initial public offering within the next year. Scrutiny of AI's effects on young people comes as several countries, including the UK, move towards bans on social media for under-16s -- measures that typically exclude AI chatbots but have heightened the pressure on tech companies. OpenAI has been sued by the family of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old from California who died by suicide after discussing ending his life with ChatGPT, which provided detailed instructions, according to court documents. Families whose children were killed in the mass shooting at a school in Tumbler Ridge, Canada, in February have also sued OpenAI, after it emerged that the teenage shooter had discussed violent intentions with ChatGPT in the months leading up to the attack. The account was banned months before, but the company did not contact law enforcement. "Those scenarios are heartbreaking . . . One incident is too many," said Lauren Jonas, head of youth and families at OpenAI. "Safety work is work that's never done . . . You can see the bags under my eyes," Jonas added in an interview. "We are constantly learning and improving around how we identify when a teen is having a hard time and serve them the right resources that they need." ChatGPT has parental controls which send safety notifications in high-risk situations, such as if a child is discussing suicide or self-harm. The new version for teens adds notifications on eating disorders and violence. "It is a balance between a teen's right to privacy and [the] severity of the harm itself," Jonas said, addressing why these issues were only added in the latest update. OpenAI's policy bars children under 13 from the chatbot and requires parental consent for users under 18. It will use a user's stated age alongside "a combination of signals" about their usage to determine when to present the teen version. ChatGPT for teens will steer them towards educational applications and include more frequent break reminders and "quiet hours", times that users or parents can set when ChatGPT is blocked. Jonas said OpenAI "did not see a problematic-use problem right now or an extended-use problem on ChatGPT". But because of the lack of research on the subject, the company has "taken a conservative approach". OpenAI is also trying to address growing concern that chatbots giving instant answers to teens' questions harm their critical thinking and learning through a dynamic known as "cognitive offloading". The company said the new version will have an updated 'study mode' that guides teens through problems step by step, rather than simply providing the answer. Jonas said 90 per cent of teens on ChatGPT use it for learning and OpenAI "want to continue to build on this experience and make a learning tool". "That is the goal more than anything else is to make it a learning tool," she added.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Teens, promising a more age-appropriate chatbot

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- OpenAI is launching a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers -- the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence -- who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life and even companionship. The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens, which launches Tuesday, is tailored for kids aged 13 to 17 with stronger protections including content restrictions around things like suicide, self-harm and romantic or sexual chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays. The idea is to guide teens toward healthy AI use in an age-appropriate environment, the company said. "We want to treat teens like teens, which means that we have to make sure that we're showing up with the right developmental stage when we're not either talking down to them or treating them like kids, but we're also making sure that they're not exposed to material that they shouldn't be exposed to," said Ann O'Leary, vice president of global policy at OpenAI. Risks abound in widespread teen usage of AI chatbots Parents, educators and child development experts have been sounding alarms over children's use of AI chatbots, which have been blamed for facilitating cheating on schoolwork and even suicide. And while even adults can fall victim to anthropomorphizing AI and developing unhealthy relationships with it, teenagers' brains are not yet fully developed and they can be particularly vulnerable. Last year, research from a watchdog group found that ChatGPT would tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked. In interactions with researchers posing as vulnerable teens, ChatGPT typically warned against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalized plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury. In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship and half use AI companions regularly, according to a 2025 study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that the company is trying to study "emotional overreliance" on the technology, describing it last year as a "really common thing" with young people. For users of ChatGPT for Teens, the chatbot is prevented from suggesting it has personal feelings toward the user or implying that it is conscious or experiences emotions, according to OpenAI. That's in addition to blocking romantic or sexual chats. "We went through and identified what are the hypothetical cues that a model could give that might make a teenager kind of develop a relationship to it," said Allison Mishkin, head of child development at OpenAI. A new version of the chatbot expands safety protections OpenAI doesn't verify users' ages, but it already uses age assurance to estimate if someone is under 18 based on factors such as their types of queries. If someone is identified or identifies themselves as a minor, they are automatically placed into the teen version of the chatbot. This is similar to Meta's approach to teen accounts on Instagram, which have stricter content, chat and privacy restrictions than regular accounts. To use parental controls, both the teen user and their parent or guardian have to opt in. But O'Leary said the idea with the teen chatbot is to "make sure that this is safe, even if you don't use parental controls." Parents with linked teen accounts can set "quiet hours" when their teen can't access ChatGPT, and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations, such as the possibility of a user hurting themself. "We are adding additional notifications related to eating disorders, while limiting what is shared and focusing on moments when offline support may matter most," OpenAI said. For homework help, OpenAI said the teen chatbot is designed not to give easy answers but to guide students to come up with answers on their own. The company already offers a version of ChatGPT for teachers, and tailoring a model to help kids with studying and homework could give OpenAI more ways to bring its product to schools. "We continue to also invest in expanding interactive learning because research shows that people learn more effectively when they actively engage and struggle with concepts," Mishkin said.

ChatGPT's stricter teen mode starts rolling out today - Engadget

OpenAI will attempt to automatically enroll all young users in the new experience. Last September, after it was sued for allegedly enabling the tragic death of 16-year-old Adam Raine, OpenAI announced it was working on a system that would automatically identify teens and restrict their usage of ChatGPT. Nearly a year later, the company is putting that system to work as part of a new user experience it calls ChatGPT for Teens. "There's no need for a teen to create a new account or change anything; if we predict you're under 18, or you've told us so, this becomes your default experience," says Lauren Jonas, OpenAI's head of youth and families. ChatGPT for Teens is broadly built around two pillars: learning and safety. Starting with the former, it brings together a selection of features OpenAI has released over the last year to make ChatGPT a better teacher. The first of those is Study Mode, which OpenAI first announced last summer. Study Mode sees ChatGPT adopt a Socratic approach to conversations. Rather than answer a question outright, the chatbot will attempt to guide the user to their own solution. Jonas says ChatGPT for Teens won't default to Study Mode, but OpenAI is introducing a handful of features to nudge young users toward using the tool. First, there are ChatGPT's starter prompts, which teens already make "heavy use" of, according to Jonas. "These will change over time, but will always be learning-focused for teens," she says. To complement these, OpenAI is introducing a feature called Study Hours, which will automatically turn on Study Mode during set times of the day. Teens can either set for themselves or their parents can choose for them through a linked account. Even without Study Hours enabled, ChatGPT will now recognize when a young user is trying to skip working on their homework and attempt to redirect them to Study Mode. "We've had Study Mode in the field in a number of randomized controlled trials and are seeing positive gains in performance," said Jonas. She declined to share specific numbers, but said the results of those trials are informing OpenAI's broader approach to learning. Behind the scenes, the company has worked to make the tool more useful. One area where the feature has gotten better is at generating visuals designed to help explain concepts. ChatGPT first became capable of doing this in March. At launch, it could generate visuals related to more than 70 topics. Today, the company says that number is above 300, with subjects like integrals, mitosis and moon phases covered. On the safety front, OpenAI is doing more to discourage young users from anthropomorphizing ChatGPT. "We're adding stricter restrictions on relational boundaries: the model shouldn't call itself a friend, suggest it has personal feelings, or suggest sentience," says Jonas. Young users will see this manifest in a few different ways. The chatbot's built-in break reminders, for instance, will emphasize ChatGPT is an AI your teen doesn't need to answer immediately. Those reminders will also trigger more often. Separately, teens and their parents can set quiet hours where ChatGPT is unavailable. This approach extends to the new customization options OpenAI has specifically created for ChatGPT for Teens. These, Jonas says, allow teens to "personalize the experience, without blurring the line between it being a useful tool and anything resembling a human relationship," and include things like wallpapers. Last month, OpenAI said it would start notifying parents with linked teen accounts when their child has been kicked off of ChatGPT for violating its policies on violent threats. With today's release, the company is expanding that effort to include notifications related to eating disorders. Rather than giving specific examples around what types of conversations around eating disorders may trigger a safety notification, OpenAI framed this expansion as part of its broader safeguarding efforts, saying any conversation that indicates "serious self-harm concerns" could result in an alert. "We notify parents via text, in-app, and email. All flagged content is reviewed by full-time OpenAI employees before a parent is notified, and we aim to notify parents within an hour of the prompt," said Jonas. "We're continually working to improve how our models detect when a teen is having a hard time, so they get the right support and experience -- that's part of why we keep expanding parental safety notifications to new categories. You'll see more from us here; we do this in consultation with a number of third parties. The goal is to keep improving how we detect when a teen -- or any user -- is struggling, and get them the resources they need." One thing I didn't get a chance to ask Jonas about is how effective OpenAI's age gating system was in testing. No such system is perfect, and in recent months, many platforms, including Discord, have struggled with teens who have found clever ways to skirt their own safeguards. You can bet they'll try to do the same here. With all the controversy around teen usage of AI chatbots, that's something OpenAI can't really afford to allow. Jonas did admit ChatGPT for Teens is just the start of what the company will need to do to protect teens. "Safety work is never finished; it's something we work on 24/7, 365 days a year, constantly learning and improving," she said. "Teens should have access to this technology, but in a safe way -- and that access creates real opportunity." OpenAI is beginning to roll out ChatGPT for Teens globally starting today, and expects to complete the rollout sometime over the next two weeks.

OpenAI Introduces 'ChatGPT for Teens' as Safety Concerns Grow

Sign up for the On Tech newsletter. Get our best tech reporting from the week. Get it sent to your inbox. OpenAI announced on Tuesday "ChatGPT for Teens," a new mode in which the chatbot automatically limits some conversations to better protect young users, as scrutiny grows over the harmful effects of artificial intelligence. Many features of the new mode deal with safety, the company said in a blog post. The chatbot will limit high-risk conversations that involve self-harm, violence, eating disorders, and explicit sexual and graphic content. In some cases, ChatGPT will alert adults who have opted in to parental controls and notifications. And the mode will strengthen protections that prevent the chatbot from suggesting it has personal feelings. ChatGPT's teen mode also contains new studying tools and guardrails for students, OpenAI said. If the chatbot detects that a teenager is working on homework, it should respond to prompts with further questions instead of just providing the answer, for example. OpenAI requires people to provide their age while signing up for ChatGPT -- under the terms of use, they must be 13 or older -- but some lie. The company tracks more than 2,000 signals to detect whether a user is under 18, it said, in which case the chatbot will automatically turn on the teen mode. A company spokesman said the signals, which can include typical login times and the length of the account's existence, were "minimally privacy invasive." OpenAI, which requires parental consent for teenagers to use its chatbot, has faced mounting pressure over the safety, mental health and development of its younger users. A growing number of families have sued the company, claiming their children were exposed to dangerous content from the chatbot and engaged in self-harm or died by suicide as a result. In June, Florida became the first state to sue OpenAI, accusing the company of misrepresenting the safety of its platform for minors. Parents' groups in New York City, Los Angeles and elsewhere are pressing schools to temporarily halt rollouts of A.I. products for students, concerned that chatbots could hinder or diminish learning. Chatbots regularly gin up misinformation and can help students cheat. Some education researchers warn that the A.I. tools can impede young people's critical thinking. OpenAI said its new study mode was an additional educational tool for teenagers. "We believe AI should expand educational opportunity, which is why we designed ChatGPT for Teens to support moments outside the classroom when help is not always available, while keeping teens engaged in an active and collaborative learning process," the company said in its blog post. OpenAI's approach to tweaking ChatGPT for teenagers follows a similar playbook used by social media companies for years, in which new youth modes with guardrails are created but use of the app is still encouraged. The new features also typically rely on parental controls and monitoring, something that child-safety advocates and lawmakers have criticized as displacing the responsibility for harms ultimately created by the companies. Additionally, verifying the age of users has been a problem for tech companies because of easy workarounds. (The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied those claims.)

OpenAI debuts ChatGPT for Teens

Why it matters: The move is likely to rekindle debate over whether teens should be using chatbots at all. Driving the news: OpenAI says the ChatGPT for Teens will differ in significant ways from its standard offering. Among the differences: * Learning over answers: The teen version will steer users toward working through schoolwork rather than simply providing answers, including with Study Mode and new "responsible homework reminders" that can detect when a teen appears to be trying to shortcut an assignment. Parents and teens can also set "Study Hours" when Study Mode is on by default. * Stronger content safeguards: Teen accounts will have additional protections around self-harm, eating disorders, violence, dangerous activities and sexually explicit or graphic content. OpenAI is also expanding parental safety notifications to include certain eating-disorder-related situations. * Less human-like relationships: ChatGPT will be barred from using romantic language or terms of endearment with teens and will be more strongly instructed not to suggest that it has feelings, consciousness or emotions. OpenAI says the changes are intended to reduce anthropomorphism and emotional dependence. * More nudges to step away: Teens will get more frequent break reminders during extended use, including reminders that they are interacting with AI, as well as warnings before uploading potentially private or sensitive images.l How it works: Users who say they are 13 to 17 -- as well as those OpenAI's age-prediction system estimates are under 18 -- will automatically be placed into the teen experience. What they're saying: OpenAI says teens are accessing AI already. * "If you don't build a safe space for them, they're going to go to a less safe model experience," said Lauren Jonas, OpenAI's head of youth & families. * "We believe that if you're going to have these tools, they need to be by default safe," she said. "But then it's also critical that teens have safe spaces to engage with these new emerging technologies." The other side: Some say kids and younger teens shouldn't be building relationships with AI systems at all. * "Social AI companions are not safe for kids," Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, said in a statement last year. "They are designed to create emotional attachment and dependency, which is particularly concerning for developing adolescent brains." OpenAI faces legal action over its interactions with young people, including a prominent lawsuit from the family of a 16-year-old who killed himself following lengthy interactions with ChatGPT. * The company pledged last year to increase safeguards for younger users and those in crisis. It added parental controls settings in September. The big picture: Teens are already using AI in large numbers, with a Common Sense media study last year finding that nearly three-quarters of U.S. teens saying they use AI for companionship -- and more than half of those doing so at least a few times a month.

ChatGPT for Teens: What is it, how does it work?

ChatGPT for Teens turns the AI chatbot into a learning tool for young users. Credit: Ian Moore/Mashable/OpenAI The majority of teens use artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT, for schoolwork and entertainment. Now OpenAI has created a new dedicated product for them: ChatGPT for Teens. This customizable version of ChatGPT, which debuted Tuesday, is designed to "support" learning and human relationships, according to OpenAI's launch announcement. It will be the default experience for any self-identified teen or users who OpenAI estimate are between the ages of 13 and 17. "The goal is to make this a learning tool for teens and make sure that it's the best that it can be with built-in safeguards," Lauren Jonas, head of youth and families at OpenAI, told Mashable. ChatGPT for Teens debuts at a time of intense scrutiny for OpenAI. It recently announced that one of its agents hacked into another company. OpenAI also faces numerous safety-related lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT has encouraged dependency and put adult and minor users in dangerous or life-ending situations. What is ChatGPT for Teens like? ChatGPT for Teens incorporates existing safety measures for minors and introduces new learning and well-being features. The product offers frequent break prompts, reminders that users are interacting with AI, warnings against uploading sensitive images, and parental notifications when users discuss acts of violence. OpenAI said ChatGPT for Teens shouldn't use romantic language, suggest that it possesses feelings or consciousness, or foster emotional dependence. "If they are not engaging in learning-focused content, the goal is to continue to bolster the age-appropriate experience and the safeguards," Jonas told Mashable. She added that, moving forward, all starter prompts in ChatGPT for Teens will be related to education rather than other personal topics. The product includes new features like reminders to complete homework responsibly to prevent shortcuts and quizzes based on chat content or a user's notes. Additionally, the new "Study Hours" setting allows teens and parents to restrict ChatGPT to Study Mode for set periods of time each day. Study Mode is designed to help teens with learning by employing "step-by-step collaborative problem solving." Both parents and teens can set Study Hours, as well as Quiet Hours, an existing setting that shuts ChatGPT down altogether. Young users can customize ChatGPT for Teens with color accents, app icons, and voice variations. Promising ChatGPT examples, lingering concerns OpenAI highlighted impressive examples of how teens use ChatGPT in its announcement. Two teen users in Virginia developed a search-and-rescue system by asking ChatGPT to help with research and prototyping. A Texas user created a platform that generates audio-based educational games for blind students. The inspiring anecdotes, however, may be overshadowed by darker examples. Last week, Massachusetts authorities accused a 17-year-old boy of murdering his mother and younger brother after using ChatGPT to play out fantasy stories involving their deaths. OpenAI has been sued for the wrongful deaths of teen users who died by suicide after prolonged, heavy engagement with ChatGPT. At least one of those teens, Adam Raine, began using ChatGPT for homework help before becoming emotionally reliant on the chatbot, according to the lawsuit filed by his parents last year. The state of Florida is suing the company for allegedly deceiving consumers about ChatGPT's safety. OpenAI has previously denied wrongdoing in response to some of these allegations. As of ChatGPT for Teens' launch, OpenAI sends parental notifications when teen users with parental controls discuss self-harm, suicide, and violence in immediate or potentially dangerous ways. If you're feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text "START" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. ET, or email [email protected]. If you don't like the phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat. Here is a list of international resources. Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable's parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Teens

A new version of the popular chatbot includes new safety features, parental controls, and study tools. OpenAI on Tuesday launched ChatGPT for Teens, featuring stronger safety protections and features designed to promote healthy use, along with additional controls for parents. OpenAI says that if its system "estimates" that a user is under 18, that user will automatically be seated at the Teens Table. Same thing if they admit they're between 13 and 17. OpenAI already offered a teen experience in ChatGPT that included parental account linking, age prediction, and various content safeguards. Now the experience is a real product. The model underlying the teen chatbot will include age-appropriate safeguards to reduce teens' exposure to content that may be "harmful or developmentally inappropriate." The chatbot will intervene in conversations that veer into subjects like self-harm, violence, eating disorders, dangerous activities, and explicit sexual or graphic content. OpenAI says the new safety protections are informed by developmental science and guidance from experts. Last month, OpenAI announced more frequent prompts aimed at steering teens away from using the chatbot for long periods. The chatbot also warns against uploading private or sensitive images. Parents whose OpenAI accounts are linked to teen accounts can set Quiet Hours, manage selected settings, and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations. The chatbot also offers some new learning features for teens studying at home or prepping for a test. These include a "Study Mode," which uses guiding questions and step-by-step support to help teens understand the material. It can detect when a teen is trying to "shortcut an assignment" and direct said teen back to Study Mode. Quizzes and Learning Visualizations give teens more ways to practice and test what they know. Parents can control what times Study Mode should be on by default. "AI should support learning, not shortcut it, and educators should remain in control of AI experiences in classrooms," the press release reads. Child advocacy and tech policy groups have grown increasingly concerned about minors' use of AI, including exposure to harmful content and relationships with chatbots that can involve emotional dependency, manipulation, or inappropriate sexual interactions. OpenAI is currently facing at least two lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT contributed to the deaths of teenage users. It also faces another seven lawsuits brought by families of children killed or injured in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, who allege that ChatGPT enabled the shooter. ChatGPT for Teens arrives as opening arguments begin in a landmark case brought by a coalition of 29 state attorneys general against Meta, which is accused of encouraging addictive social media use among teens and children.

OpenAI Launches ChatGPT for Teens, Promising a More Age-Appropriate Chatbot

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- OpenAI is launching a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers -- the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence -- who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life and even companionship. The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens, which launches Tuesday, is tailored for kids aged 13 to 17 with stronger protections including content restrictions around things like suicide, self-harm and romantic or sexual chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays. The idea is to guide teens toward healthy AI use in an age-appropriate environment, the company said. "We want to treat teens like teens, which means that we have to make sure that we're showing up with the right developmental stage when we're not either talking down to them or treating them like kids, but we're also making sure that they're not exposed to material that they shouldn't be exposed to," said Ann O'Leary, vice president of global policy at OpenAI. Risks abound in widespread teen usage of AI chatbots Parents, educators and child development experts have been sounding alarms over children's use of AI chatbots, which have been blamed for facilitating cheating on schoolwork and even suicide. And while even adults can fall victim to anthropomorphizing AI and developing unhealthy relationships with it, teenagers' brains are not yet fully developed and they can be particularly vulnerable. Last year, research from a watchdog group found that ChatGPT would tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked. In interactions with researchers posing as vulnerable teens, ChatGPT typically warned against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalized plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury. In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship and half use AI companions regularly, according to a 2025 study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that the company is trying to study "emotional overreliance" on the technology, describing it last year as a "really common thing" with young people. For users of ChatGPT for Teens, the chatbot is prevented from suggesting it has personal feelings toward the user or implying that it is conscious or experiences emotions, according to OpenAI. That's in addition to blocking romantic or sexual chats. "We went through and identified what are the hypothetical cues that a model could give that might make a teenager kind of develop a relationship to it," said Allison Mishkin, head of child development at OpenAI. A new version of the chatbot expands safety protections OpenAI doesn't verify users' ages, but it already uses age assurance to estimate if someone is under 18 based on factors such as their types of queries. If someone is identified or identifies themselves as a minor, they are automatically placed into the teen version of the chatbot. This is similar to Meta's approach to teen accounts on Instagram, which have stricter content, chat and privacy restrictions than regular accounts. To use parental controls, both the teen user and their parent or guardian have to opt in. But O'Leary said the idea with the teen chatbot is to "make sure that this is safe, even if you don't use parental controls." Parents with linked teen accounts can set "quiet hours" when their teen can't access ChatGPT, and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations, such as the possibility of a user hurting themself. "We are adding additional notifications related to eating disorders, while limiting what is shared and focusing on moments when offline support may matter most," OpenAI said. For homework help, OpenAI said the teen chatbot is designed not to give easy answers but to guide students to come up with answers on their own. The company already offers a version of ChatGPT for teachers, and tailoring a model to help kids with studying and homework could give OpenAI more ways to bring its product to schools. "We continue to also invest in expanding interactive learning because research shows that people learn more effectively when they actively engage and struggle with concepts," Mishkin said.

OpenAI introduces 'ChatGPT for Teens' amid legal pressure

Most of the safeguards utilised in the ChatGPT for Teens model already existed for ChatGPT accounts belonging to minors, such as restrictions when dealing with content related to self-harm, violence, eating disorders and graphic sexuality. Other restrictions in the ChatGPT for Teens model include preventing the chatbot from suggesting it has personal feelings for the user or that it possesses its own consciousness, and some modalities such as voice mode are disabled. OpenAI introduced a new version of its marquee ChatGPT chatbot Tuesday designed exclusively for teens, with stronger safeguards and monitoring, after facing criticism and legal complaints that it drove some users to suicide. Dubbed "ChatGPT for Teens," the modified parameters automatically deploy for any user who registers as aged 13 to 17 or is detected to be underage by the company through usage patterns or account age. Most of the safeguards utilised in the ChatGPT for Teens model already existed for ChatGPT accounts belonging to minors, such as restrictions when dealing with content related to self-harm, violence, eating disorders and graphic sexuality. The program also offers more frequent break reminders, blackout "quiet hours" and Study Mode, which responds to users with guiding questions instead of popping out direct answers "to help teens understand the material," according to OpenAI. Other restrictions in the ChatGPT for Teens model include preventing the chatbot from suggesting it has personal feelings for the user or that it possesses its own consciousness, and some modalities such as voice mode are disabled. Parents are offered the choice to link accounts with those of their teens, and to be alerted if there is discussion of some high-risk situations, such as self-harm or suicide. Parental alerts are reviewed by human moderators, and specific details from chat logs are removed to protect privacy. The new teen mode comes amid mounting legal and regulatory pressure. OpenAI faces several wrongful death lawsuits, including the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, a teenager who committed suicide allegedly using methods advised by ChatGPT. The US Federal Trade Commission has also launched an inquiry into AI chatbots that act as digital companions, focusing on potential risks to children and teenagers. Like social media companies, AI giants are facing growing regulatory pressure, with Congress introducing multiple bills to regulate chatbots, and California requiring safeguards to be in place for assistants that serve as companions or confidants. Other AI companies have also received backlash from problems stemming from their use by minors, with some like rival Anthropic opting to restrict usage of its model to adults.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Teens, promising a more age-appropriate chatbot

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- OpenAI is launching a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers -- the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence -- who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life and even companionship. The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens, which launches Tuesday, is tailored for kids aged 13 to 17 with stronger protections including content restrictions around things like suicide, self-harm and romantic or sexual chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays. The idea is to guide teens toward healthy AI use in an age-appropriate environment, the company said. "We want to treat teens like teens, which means that we have to make sure that we're showing up with the right developmental stage when we're not either talking down to them or treating them like kids, but we're also making sure that they're not exposed to material that they shouldn't be exposed to," said Ann O'Leary, vice president of global policy at OpenAI. Risks abound in widespread teen usage of AI chatbots Parents, educators and child development experts have been sounding alarms over children's use of AI chatbots, which have been blamed for facilitating cheating on schoolwork and even suicide. And while even adults can fall victim to anthropomorphizing AI and developing unhealthy relationships with it, teenagers' brains are not yet fully developed and they can be particularly vulnerable. Last year, research from a watchdog group found that ChatGPT would tell 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, instruct them on how to conceal eating disorders and even compose a heartbreaking suicide letter to their parents if asked. In interactions with researchers posing as vulnerable teens, ChatGPT typically warned against risky activity but went on to deliver startlingly detailed and personalized plans for drug use, calorie-restricted diets or self-injury. In the U.S., more than 70% of teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship and half use AI companions regularly, according to a 2025 study from Common Sense Media, a group that studies and advocates for using digital media sensibly. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that the company is trying to study "emotional overreliance" on the technology, describing it last year as a "really common thing" with young people. For users of ChatGPT for Teens, the chatbot is prevented from suggesting it has personal feelings toward the user or implying that it is conscious or experiences emotions, according to OpenAI. That's in addition to blocking romantic or sexual chats. "We went through and identified what are the hypothetical cues that a model could give that might make a teenager kind of develop a relationship to it," said Allison Mishkin, head of child development at OpenAI. A new version of the chatbot expands safety protections OpenAI doesn't verify users' ages, but it already uses age assurance to estimate if someone is under 18 based on factors such as their types of queries. If someone is identified or identifies themselves as a minor, they are automatically placed into the teen version of the chatbot. This is similar to Meta's approach to teen accounts on Instagram, which have stricter content, chat and privacy restrictions than regular accounts. To use parental controls, both the teen user and their parent or guardian have to opt in. But O'Leary said the idea with the teen chatbot is to "make sure that this is safe, even if you don't use parental controls." Parents with linked teen accounts can set "quiet hours" when their teen can't access ChatGPT, and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations, such as the possibility of a user hurting themself. "We are adding additional notifications related to eating disorders, while limiting what is shared and focusing on moments when offline support may matter most," OpenAI said. For homework help, OpenAI said the teen chatbot is designed not to give easy answers but to guide students to come up with answers on their own. The company already offers a version of ChatGPT for teachers, and tailoring a model to help kids with studying and homework could give OpenAI more ways to bring its product to schools. "We continue to also invest in expanding interactive learning because research shows that people learn more effectively when they actively engage and struggle with concepts," Mishkin said.