Why teens deserve access to safe AI

OpenAI has outlined its ongoing efforts to provide teens with safe access to ChatGPT, emphasizing that nearly nine in ten teens on the platform use it weekly for learning, skill-building, and productivity. To support educational outcomes while preventing dependency on direct answers, OpenAI developed Study Mode in collaboration with teachers and learning scientists. This feature helps students work through problems using guiding questions and can be enabled directly by parents via linked accounts. Users estimated to be under 18 receive automatic age-appropriate experiences, including safeguards designed to limit exposure to graphic violence, self-harm, unhealthy body-image content, and risky challenges. Additionally, OpenAI has rolled out features encouraging healthy habits, such as frequent break reminders for extended sessions. Expanded parental controls now allow adults to set quiet hours, manage voice mode and image generation, and receive notifications for potential self-harm or certain policy violations resulting in account deactivation. OpenAI states it consults with various experts, child safety organizations, and educational groups—including Moonshot, the American Federation of Teachers, and the American Psychological Association—to shape its safety policies and resources. The company also collaborates externally to share best practices and calls for scalable global standards for youth AI safety.