OpenAI is rolling out a dedicated ChatGPT experience for teenagers, adding age-appropriate safeguards and learning tools as the AI chatbot becomes increasingly popular among younger users.
The company began rolling out ChatGPT for teens globally on Aug. 18, according to its Help Center. The experience is designed for users under 18 and is automatically enabled for accounts OpenAI identifies as belonging to a teen.
Rather than creating a separate chatbot, OpenAI says teens will continue to use the same ChatGPT, but with additional protections designed around their age.
Here’s what teens can do with ChatGPT:
- Study with Study Mode — Get guided help with lessons and schoolwork.
- Learn through prompts — Explore topics with learning-focused prompts.
- Take quizzes — Test their knowledge and reinforce what they have learned.
- Set homework reminders — Keep track of assignments and study tasks.
- Set study hours — Create dedicated periods for studying.
The teen experience also promises to apply stronger safeguards around sensitive content, including graphic violence, dangerous challenges, sexual or romantic roleplay, extreme dieting and body-image concerns.
Parents can link their accounts to their teenager’s ChatGPT account. They can manage settings such as quiet hours and study hours. However, they cannot read their teen’s conversations through parental controls.
In limited situations involving serious safety concerns, parents may receive information intended to help support their teen.
OpenAI is also introducing age prediction as part of the rollout. The company says it can use account-related signals to estimate whether a user is under 18. This means an account could be placed in the teen experience even if the user previously entered an adult birth date.
Once a user turns 18, OpenAI says the account can transition out of the teen experience, ending teen-specific protections and any linked parental controls.
