ChatGPT for Teens launches with OpenAI safety and study tools

OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teens on August 18, creating a version of its chatbot for younger users that the company says has stronger built-in safety protections and added parental controls. The ChatGPT for Teens experience also introduces study-oriented tools intended to direct students toward working through assignments rather than obtaining immediate answers.

According to OpenAI’s announcement, users are automatically placed into the experience if its systems estimate they are under 18, or if they state that they are between 13 and 17. The company said the product is designed to help teenagers learn and think critically while promoting healthier use of AI.

How does ChatGPT for Teens work?

The product combines the company’s existing Study Mode with new features aimed at study habits. Study Mode uses questions and step-by-step guidance to help a user work through material, rather than supplying a solution outright, OpenAI said.

New responsible homework reminders are designed to identify apparent attempts to bypass an assignment and redirect a student to Study Mode. The release also adds quizzes and Learning Visualizations, which OpenAI says are intended to give users more ways to practise and understand difficult concepts.

Teens or parents can set Study Hours, periods when Study Mode becomes the default. That feature is intended to make structured study time a routine, according to the company.

What protections does OpenAI say it has added?

OpenAI said the teen experience includes age-appropriate safeguards, features intended to promote healthy use and additional controls for parents. It said the launch extends earlier work on parental controls, age prediction, an under-18 model specification and a teen-safety blueprint.

The company’s announcement establishes the product’s stated design, rather than independently demonstrating how well the protections perform. OpenAI also cited its own early assessment of tools including Study Mode as showing promising gains in student performance, but the supplied material does not include an independent evaluation.

The release arrives amid wider scrutiny of how AI products affect younger people. CNBC reported that OpenAI faces wrongful-death lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT contributed to harmful delusions and, in some cases, suicide. CNBC also reported that the Federal Trade Commission opened an inquiry in September into seven companies, including OpenAI and Meta, to examine potential negative effects of AI chatbots on children and teenagers.

OpenAI has also announced a partnership with CodeAI focused on tools and resources meant to help students and educators understand, question and use AI. The company said teachers should retain control over AI experiences in classrooms, while ChatGPT for Teens is intended primarily to support learning outside them.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.