Sam Altman, CEO and co-founder of OpenAI, speaks to media members on the Senate subway on his way to a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on July 29, 2026 in Washington.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
OpenAI ChatGPT for Teens was announced on Tuesday. This is a dedicated chatbot experience for users under 18, and the company says it has “stronger safety protections built in.”
ChatGPT for Teens builds on several features that OpenAI released last year, including a study mode aimed at helping students approach problems step-by-step, age prediction, and a host of parental controls.
The new experience for teens includes a variety of educational features, including homework reminders, quizzes, learning visualizations, and Study Time, where parents and teens can decide when Study Mode turns on by default. OpenAI said ChatGPT for Teens also includes additional age-appropriate safeguards aimed at reducing exposure to developmentally inappropriate or harmful content.
“Teens should be able to learn, create, and explore using AI,” OpenAI said in a release. “But that access must be accompanied by protections that reflect developmental stage, strengthen real-world relationships, and support healthy use over time.”
Here’s how OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teens experience begins meta has begun a high-stakes trial over whether it encouraged addictive behavior in teenagers and children. The case could cost Meta hundreds of billions of dollars in damages and involves a coalition of 29 state attorneys general who filed a unified lawsuit against Meta in 2023.
OpenAI also faces increased scrutiny regarding its safety practices.
In June, Florida Attorney General James Usmeyer filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that OpenAI knowingly released an unsafe product that could harm its users. A few days later, a coalition of state attorneys reportedly launched an investigation into the company. OpenAI told CNBC in a statement at the time that it intended to “engage constructively” with these officials.
In September, the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into seven companies, including OpenAI and Meta, to determine how AI chatbots could harm children and adolescents.
OpenAI also faces a number of wrongful death lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT drove users into harmful delusions and, in some cases, suicide.
If you are having suicidal thoughts or are in distress, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988) for support and assistance from a trained counselor.
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