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OpenAI is beginning a global rollout of a stricter version of its chatbot for young people, in an effort to automatically transition all minors to the updated platform.
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In the fall of 2025, following a lawsuit alleging that the company contributed to the tragic death of a 16-year-old, OpenAI announced the development of a mechanism capable of independently identifying teenagers and restricting their interaction with ChatGPT. Nearly a year later, the tech company rolled out this tool as part of a new specialized environment called ChatGPT for Teens. According to Lauren Jonas, head of youth and family products at OpenAI, teenagers do not need to create new accounts or manually change settings: if the company’s algorithms determine that a user is under 18, or if the user specifies this age themselves, this mode is enabled by default.
The ChatGPT for Teens concept is based on two key elements: the educational process and safety measures. Regarding learning, the platform brings together a suite of features that OpenAI has rolled out over the past year to transform ChatGPT into a more effective tutor. Among them is Study Mode, first introduced in the summer of 2025. In this mode, ChatGPT employs a Socratic approach to dialogue: instead of providing a ready-made answer, the chatbot helps the teen reach the correct conclusion on their own.
Lauren Jonas notes that ChatGPT for Teens won’t constantly operate in Study Mode, but OpenAI is adding a series of tools to encourage teens to use it. First and foremost, this applies to the initial prompts, which, according to the company representative, teens are already actively using. These prompts will be updated regularly but will always remain focused on learning. In addition, OpenAI is launching the Study Hours tool, which automatically activates Study Mode at specific times of the day. Both teens themselves and their parents can set up this schedule through linked profiles. Even when the Study Hours feature is turned off, the chatbot can detect attempts to avoid doing homework and will try to guide the user back to Study Mode.
OpenAI has already conducted a series of randomized controlled trials of Study Mode in practice and observed positive trends in teens’ academic performance. Although a company spokesperson declined to provide exact figures, she emphasized that the results of these experiments are shaping the overall direction of the company’s educational solutions. Behind the scenes, developers have improved the system’s functionality. In particular, the generation of visual graphics to explain complex concepts has been significantly enhanced. ChatGPT gained this capability in March 2026, when it supported visualizations for over 70 topics. Now, the company announces that it has expanded this list to more than 300 topics, covering subjects such as integrals, mitosis, and the phases of the moon.
On the issue of safety, OpenAI is taking steps to prevent young people from attributing human traits to ChatGPT. Lauren Jonas emphasizes that the company is setting stricter limits on the simulation of relationships: the model is prohibited from calling itself a friend, expressing personal feelings, or hinting at the existence of its own consciousness. For teenagers, this will manifest in several ways. For example, built-in reminders to take a break will emphasize that ChatGPT is merely an AI tool that does not require an immediate response. These notifications will appear more frequently. In addition, teens and their parents can set a “quiet period” during which the chatbot will be unavailable. A similar approach has been applied to the new visual customization options developed specifically for ChatGPT for Teens. According to a company representative, these elements (such as wallpapers) allow users to customize the app’s appearance without blurring the line between a useful tool and something that resembles human interaction.
Last month, OpenAI announced that it would begin sending notifications to parents with linked accounts whenever their child is blocked from ChatGPT for violating rules regarding threats of violence. With this release, the company is extending this practice to conversations related to eating disorders. Without providing an exhaustive list of specific phrases or examples that could trigger an alert, OpenAI explains this expansion as part of a broader safety strategy: any conversation showing signs of a risk of serious self-harm may trigger an alert.
Parents are notified via SMS messages, in-app notifications, and emails. All content flagged by the system undergoes mandatory review by OpenAI staff before an alert is sent to parents, and the company aims to send such alerts within 1 hour of detecting a risky query. Lauren Jonas noted that the company is continuously refining its algorithms for detecting emotional distress in young people to provide timely assistance, involving independent experts and third-party organizations in this work. The main goal is to identify mental health issues in teenagers or any other users in a timely manner and provide them with the necessary resources.
The issue of the effectiveness of the age verification system during preliminary testing was not addressed during the conversation with Lauren Jonas. No such mechanism is perfect, and in recent months, many online platforms, including Discord, have faced the reality that teenagers are finding ways to circumvent these safeguards. It’s clear that young people will try to circumvent the restrictions in this case as well; however, in light of the public scandals surrounding teenagers’ use of AI chatbots, OpenAI cannot afford to turn a blind eye to such loopholes. An OpenAI spokesperson acknowledged that the launch of ChatGPT for Teens is only the first step in a long-term process of protecting young people, emphasizing that safety efforts continue around the clock, 365 days a year, and that teenagers should have safe access to the latest technologies, as this opens up real opportunities for them.
The global rollout of ChatGPT for Teens began today, August 18, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Kyiv time. OpenAI expects to fully complete the rollout process within the next two weeks.
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