Helping teens learn, plan, and shape the future of AI

Since we introduced ChatGPT for Teens —the default experience automatically applied to accounts identified as under 18—we’ve seen young people use it to learn, explore ideas and solve everyday problems. Today, we’re sharing early progress on ChatGPT for Teens, including how teens are using its learning tools, along with new ways for teens to study and prepare for college.

ChatGPT’s 1.2 billion users span many countries, communities and backgrounds. That reach makes it especially important to build tools that help young people with different resources and opportunities learn and prepare for their futures.

ChatGPT for Teens is designed to help young people learn, think critically and deepen their understanding. As ChatGPT for Teens became available to more teens globally, those with access sent about 2.7 million more learning-related messages on average than those who didn’t have it yet.

Once enrolled, teens use ChatGPT for Teens’ learning tools at scale. The most selected conversation starter prompts are “ask questions to develop my ideas,” “give feedback on my draft,” and “help me check my evidence.” In one week, nearly 1.2 million teens used Learning Visualizations to better understand math and science concepts, and more than 180,000 used Study Mode for step-by-step learning support.

That’s why we’ll soon be adding College Planner to ChatGPT for Teens. We’re designing it to help students manage the practical steps of applying to college, without taking over the personal work of figuring out where they want to apply. Students have different levels of access to support with college applications. Our goal is to make help more accessible, regardless of financial circumstances, alongside guidance from counselors, advisers, and families.

We’re designing the initial US experience for high-school students in grades 10–12 who are planning to attend a four-year college. We plan to bring College Planner to students in more countries and expand support to two-year colleges, technical colleges, trade schools and more over time.

ChatGPT for Teens includes built-in reminders to encourage teens to take breaks. On average, teens spend under 15 minutes a day on ChatGPT. While less than 2% of teens spend more than three consecutive hours on ChatGPT, in almost half of teen conversations with a break reminder, teens took a break or ended their conversation within five minutes. These usage patterns remain well below the publicly reported ⁠ (opens in a new window) average of 5 hours for teen social media usage, and reflect a different kind of experience: ChatGPT is designed for learning, building, and creativity, rather than passive scrolling. Among teens with sessions longer than three consecutive hours, over 80% had at least one prompt related to learning.

These early signs are encouraging and we’ll continue to evaluate the experience and learn from teens, families and educators to improve ChatGPT for Teens.

Hundreds of thousands of US teens use ChatGPT each week to plan for college. They’re using it to plan applications, track deadlines, research schools and understand financial aid.