2026-08-19 11:03:42

OpenAI is introducing new safeguards for teenagers using ChatGPT, including controls designed to make the chatbot feel less like a human companion.

New teen accounts will allow users to disable ChatGPT’s voice mode, while the company is also increasing reminders encouraging young people to take breaks from lengthy sessions.

OpenAI says the prompts will remind users that ChatGPT is an AI system and that they can step away from it.

The changes form part of a broader effort to create a separate experience for users aged 13 to 17.

OpenAI says teen accounts should have protections that reflect young people’s development, support real-world relationships and encourage healthier use of AI.

The company has been developing age-prediction technology that uses signals such as usage patterns, account age and typical times of activity to estimate whether someone is under 18.

When the system believes an account belongs to a teenager, additional safeguards can be applied automatically.

OpenAI has also introduced parental controls that can disable voice mode, set quiet hours, restrict image generation and manage other features.

Parents can receive alerts in limited situations where the system detects signs of acute distress, although they cannot routinely read their child’s conversations.

The move comes amid growing debate over whether increasingly conversational AI systems can encourage users to form unhealthy relationships with chatbots.

OpenAI says its teen safeguards are not aimed at a specific incident involving young people believing ChatGPT is sentient.

Instead, the company says it wants ChatGPT to support, rather than replace, relationships with friends, family and other people.

Its rules for under-18 users include stronger restrictions around self-harm, sexual or romantic roleplay, graphic content, dangerous activities and disordered eating.

Under-13s are not permitted to use ChatGPT, while users aged 13 to 18 require parental consent under OpenAI’s current policy.

The changes come as AI companies face growing pressure to address the potential psychological effects of increasingly capable chatbots, particularly among younger users.

OpenAI says its safeguards are an ongoing process and that it will continue adjusting them as it learns more about how teenagers use AI.

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