Openai CEO Sam Altman will be walking on September 4, 2025 in the White House East Room in Washington, DC, on White House Task Force (AI) Education Conference on Artificial Intelligence.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Openai announced Tuesday that it will launch a dedicated ChatGPT experience with parental controls for users under the age of 18 as the artificial intelligence company works to enhance safety protections for teenagers.
When Openai identifies a user as a minor, it is automatically directed towards an age-appropriate ChatGPT experience that blocks graphics and sexual content and can involve law enforcement in rare cases of acute distress.
Openai is also developing technologies to better predict the age of users, but CHATGPT defaults to an under-18 experience if there is uncertainty or incomplete information.
The safety update for startups comes after the Federal Trade Commission recently launched a survey of several high-tech companies, including Openai, about the possibility that AI chatbots like ChatGPT could potentially negatively affect children and teenagers.
The agency said they wanted to understand the steps that these companies have taken to assess the safety of these chatbots when acting as peers, according to the release.
Openai also shared how ChatGpt handles “sensitive situations” last month after lawsuits from the family denounced the chatbots on the death of their teenage son due to suicide.
“We prioritize safety before teenage privacy and freedom. This is a new and powerful technology and we believe that minors need great protection.”
In August, Openai said it would release parental controls that will help teens understand and shape how they use ChatGpt. Openai shared details on these parental controls on Tuesday, saying it will be available at the end of the month.
The company’s upcoming controls allow parents to link their ChatGPT accounts via teen emails, manage the ability to set and disable power times when teens are unable to use the chatbot, and receive information on how the chatbot responds and notifications if the teen is suffering from acute distress.
ChatGpt is aimed at users over the age of 13, Openai said.
“These are difficult decisions, but after talking to experts, this is what we think is the best and we want to be transparent with our intentions,” writes Altman.
If you have a suicide idea or are suffering, contact 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for assistance and support from a trained counselor
Watch: FTC will begin enquiries to AI chatbots acting as peers
