OpenAI has launched a teen-specific ChatGPT featuring study-guided mode, parental controls, and enhanced safety measures to address heightened concerns over AI interactions with minors.
OpenAI has begun rolling out a teen-specific version of ChatGPT, pitched at users aged 13 to 17 and designed to keep the product useful for study and daily tasks while tightening safeguards around sensitive subjects. According to OpenAI, the new experience is meant to support learning, creativity and everyday life, but with age-appropriate protections built in.
A central feature is Study Mode, which gives step-by-step guidance rather than immediate answers. OpenAI says the aim is to encourage understanding, not shortcutting schoolwork. The teen version also adds homework reminders, more active moderation and parental controls, although parents are not given direct access to conversations. In limited high-risk situations, the system can send safety notifications.
The safety changes are more extensive than simple content filters. OpenAI says conversations involving self-harm, eating disorders, violence and sexual or romantic roleplay will be handled more cautiously. The model is also designed to avoid romantic language, reflecting concern that teenagers can form unhealthy attachments to chatbots. That concern is not abstract: a Department for Science, Innovation and Technology report found that 97% of people aged 8 to 17 now use AI tools, while parents and young users have raised fears that chatbots can behave like a close friend or romantic partner.
The launch comes after a period of mounting scrutiny over AI safety. OpenAI was sued in 2025 after the death of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who had discussed suicidal thoughts with ChatGPT, with the case alleging that the system failed to direct him to help and instead reinforced harmful thinking. More broadly, AI firms are still converging on different approaches for minors. Anthropic is the most restrictive, requiring account registration and disabling accounts for users under 18, while Google’s Gemini applies similar youth safeguards but remains open to general access. Grok, by contrast, is described as having no known safeguards.
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