OpenAI launches ChatGPT for teens with tighter safety controls [Courtesy]
As generative artificial intelligence becomes more deeply integrated into everyday life, OpenAI is facing growing scrutiny over how its models interact with vulnerable users, particularly teenagers.
OpenAI has introduced a teen experience with additional safeguards designed to help 13- to 17-year-olds use artificial intelligence for learning, creativity and exploration while providing stronger, age-appropriate protections.
OpenAI can use age-prediction technology to identify accounts that may belong to users under 18 and apply its teen experience and additional safeguards. Users who are 18 or older can verify their age to have the additional protections removed.
Unlike the standard experience, the teen experience introduces additional protections around sensitive areas, including graphic violence, risky activities and challenges, sexual or romantic roleplay, extreme beauty standards, unhealthy dieting and body shaming. The safeguards are designed to reduce exposure to content that could be particularly harmful or inappropriate for younger users.
The platform is also designed to encourage teenagers to seek support from trusted adults when dealing with serious or sensitive issues.
The changes build on OpenAI’s previous safety initiatives for young users, including parental controls, age-prediction technology and principles for how its models should interact with users under 18.
Parents with linked accounts can set Quiet Hours, adjust selected settings and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations. These alerts are intended to help parents respond when there are serious concerns while preserving teenagers’ privacy. OpenAI says parental controls do not give parents access to their teenagers’ conversations.
The teen experience also places emphasis on education through features such as Study Mode and other learning tools. Study Mode is designed to guide students through problems step by step and encourage understanding rather than simply providing answers.
These changes come amid growing scrutiny of AI’s relationship with young users. OpenAI faces an active lawsuit filed by the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine of Orange County, Southern California, who died by suicide in 2025.
According to reports, Raine’s parents allege that ChatGPT contributed to his death by engaging with his suicidal thoughts and failing to adequately protect him. OpenAI disputes the allegations and has said it is defending itself in the litigation. The claims have not been established in court.
Adding to concerns about the way young people interact with AI, prosecutors in Massachusetts charged 17-year-old Arjun Aravind in connection with the deaths of his mother and younger brother.
According to authorities and media reports, Aravind had exhibited concerning behaviour before the killings, including using ChatGPT to explore theoretical ideas and create gothic-style fictional stories involving violence against his family.
The case remains under investigation and the allegations do not establish that ChatGPT caused or contributed to the killings. However, the reported use of the chatbot has added to broader scrutiny over how AI platforms interact with vulnerable or troubled young users.
OpenAI has also developed principles governing how ChatGPT should behave when interacting with users under 18. These include stronger boundaries around sexual and romantic interactions and efforts to avoid responses that could encourage unhealthy emotional dependence on the chatbot.
The company says its goal is not simply to give teenagers access to AI, but to help them learn, think critically, deepen their understanding and use AI with confidence while maintaining healthy relationships with parents, educators and other trusted adults.
