OpenAI is introducing ChatGPT for Teens, a version of ChatGPT designed for users the system estimates are under 18 or who state their age as 13 to 17. It combines learning-focused features with stronger built-in safety protections, parental controls, and product cues meant to encourage healthy, balanced use. The launch builds on earlier work including parental controls, an updated Under-18 Model Spec, a Teen Safety Blueprint, age prediction, and expanded learning features.

The experience centers on Study Mode, which uses guiding questions, scaffolding, metacognitive prompts, and knowledge checks so teens work through problems step by step instead of receiving a quick answer. New responsible homework reminders can recognize when a teen appears to be trying to shortcut an assignment and redirect them toward Study Mode. Quizzes and Learning Visualizations give teens more ways to practice and test understanding, and Study Hours let teens or parents choose times when Study Mode is on by default. OpenAI says the design was built with teachers, scientists, and pedagogy experts and is consistent with learning-science research showing that active retrieval and self-explanation support stronger comprehension and longer-term retention than passive review alone. Early internal evaluation of tools like Study Mode also showed promising gains in student performance.

ChatGPT for Teens is positioned as a tool for learning outside the classroom; for educators and school districts, ChatGPT for Teachers remains the secure, institution-managed option. OpenAI also announced a partnership with CodeAI to give students and educators access to tools and resources that help teens understand how AI works, direct it, question it, and create with it, with teachers helping to shape how AI enters the classroom.

The announcement highlights teens already using AI to build real tools: in Virginia, students developed WiFind, a search-and-rescue system that uses existing Wi-Fi signals to help locate survivors trapped beneath rubble after natural disasters, and in Texas, a student used ChatGPT to help develop and scale Audemy, a platform of audio-based educational games for blind students, to 200,000 users and 50 games. These examples illustrate the kinds of use ChatGPT for Teens is meant to foster: learning from complex material, building with guidance, and applying new skills to real problems.

For under-18 users, protections are on by default. They are based on the Under-18 Principles in OpenAI‘s Model Spec and are designed to reduce exposure to content that may be harmful or developmentally inappropriate in higher-risk areas such as self-harm, violence, eating disorders, dangerous activities, and explicit sexual or graphic content. Parents with linked teen accounts can set Quiet Hours, manage selected settings, and receive safety notifications in limited high-risk situations, with additional notifications related to eating disorders. Break reminders encourage teens to step away, and product cues consistently identify ChatGPT as AI. The updated under-18 model spec goes beyond blocking romantic or sexualized roleplay: ChatGPT should not use romantic language, encourage emotional dependence, or imply that it has feelings or consciousness. New protections include sensitive-image upload reminders, teen-specific onboarding, and customization options like accent colors and voice variations that keep the experience personal without blurring the line between a useful tool and a human relationship.

OpenAI says these protections are underpinned by ongoing safety research informed by developmental science, expert input, and testing of model safeguards in areas where teens may face distinct risks. The company has begun sharing under-18 evaluations in its system cards that show how models perform against teen-specific standards in sensitive-content cases such as self-harm, eating disorders, violence, age-restricted goods and services, and sexual content. Looking ahead, OpenAI says it will continue adding features and publishing what it learns, with the goal of letting teens use AI to learn, create, and explore while keeping protections that reflect their developmental stage and support real-world relationships.