OpenAI Locks Teens Into Stricter ChatGPT Mode

OpenAI began rolling out a separate "ChatGPT for Teens" experience on Tuesday, automatically pushing users it believes are under 18 into a locked-down version of the chatbot with tighter safety rules.

The company is not waiting for teens to opt in. Users who say they are under 18 at sign-up get the mode by default, and OpenAI says it is using AI to estimate ages and apply the same protections to anyone it suspects is a minor, whatever birthdate is on the profile.

The rollout lands while OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman face a string of lawsuits — including one from the state of Florida — alleging the chatbot contributed to the harm or deaths of young people.

What Changes

Teen accounts get nudges to take a break after 90 minutes of use inside a three-hour window, and OpenAI says those break reminders fire more often and stress that ChatGPT is an AI the user does not have to answer right away.

Teens or their parents can set "Quiet Hours," when ChatGPT is simply unavailable, and "Study Hours," when the chatbot's Socratic Study Mode turns on by default. The model will also try to catch a teen dodging homework and redirect them into Study Mode.

OpenAI says it tightened what it calls "relational boundaries." In the words of Lauren Jonas, the company's head of youth and families: "the model shouldn't call itself a friend, suggest it has personal feelings, or suggest sentience."

The chatbot will also warn teens to think twice before uploading a private or sensitive image.

Parent notifications are expanding too. OpenAI already told parents with linked accounts when a child was cut off for violating its rules on violent threats; in the coming weeks it will add alerts tied to eating disorders. Jonas said flagged content is reviewed by full-time OpenAI employees before a parent is contacted, by text, in-app and email, with the company aiming to notify within an hour.