OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT for Teens, a version tailored for users ages 13 to 17, with learning-focused tools and additional guardrails.

In its announcement, OpenAI explained that teen accounts are automatically routed into this experience, which includes a study-focused mode, homework nudges meant to discourage answer-copying, quizzes, and visual learning aids.

OpenAI also introduced "Study Hours," a scheduling option that can keep the learning mode enabled by default during selected times. The company framed the design as help for work done outside school, while keeping educators in charge of classroom use through separate offerings such as ChatGPT for Teachers.

One educator highlighted the intent in the release, saying, "Not every student has someone at home who can help when they get stuck or have questions with their homework. Tools like Responsible Homework Reminder can guide students step by step, helping them understand their mistakes, build confidence, and keep learning—not simply hand them an answer," according to OpenAI.

On safety, OpenAI said teen users get protections by default that are meant to reduce exposure to harmful or age-inappropriate material, with higher-risk areas including self-harm, violence, eating disorders, dangerous activities, and explicit sexual or graphic content. Parents with linked accounts can adjust settings, set quiet hours, and receive limited safety notifications, with added alerts tied to violence, self-harm, eating disorders, dangerous activities, and explicit sexual or graphic content.

OpenAI also said it is partnering with CodeAI on a "signature partnership" intended to expand access to AI tools and learning resources for students and educators.

CodeAI CEO Karim Meghji said, "Every student should know how AI actually works and be able to question the technology, catch its mistakes, and know when to stop trusting it."

The company pointed to teen projects it said were built with help from ChatGPT, including WiFind, described as a search-and-rescue concept that uses existing Wi‑Fi signals to help locate people trapped after disasters, and Audemy, an audio-based educational game platform for blind students that OpenAI said reached 200,000 users and 50 games. 

OpenAI and other AI companies have faced growing scrutiny over safeguards for children, with lawsuits and investigations raising concerns about harmful chatbot interactions, mental health risks and the potential for minors to encounter inappropriate content.

Three Tennessee teenagers filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk’s xAI, alleging that the company’s AI chatbot, Grok, is harmful. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, claims Grok was used to create child sexual abuse material by manipulating real photos of the plaintiffs. A fourth Jane Doe has since been added to the case.

In April, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Discord, accusing the company of misleading families while its platform enabled adults to target minors. The attorney general’s office said it began looking into Discord in October 2025 after reports tied the service to the person accused of killing Charlie Kirk, and after allegations that minors were exposed to sexual exploitation, extremist material, and addictive product features.

Earlier this year, families of victims involved in a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, sued Sam Altman and OpenAI in a San Francisco federal court. The plaintiffs claim that OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, failed to alert authorities to the mass shooting.

To date, multiple lawsuits have been filed against OpenAI’s ChatGPT, citing that the artificial intelligence bot acted as an “unlicensed therapist,” or a “suicide coach,” and that the bot provided harmful advice and/or neglected to refer users to crisis counselors.

Photo: Shutterstock