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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, is rolling out extensive parental controls intended to make its technology safer for teens. The launch is expected to take place over the next 120 days.
The company has already announced plans to update its model to help support struggling users, track how much time users spend on the app and assist with personal challenges. However, OpenAI said recent cases of users, including teens, turning to the app during acute crises pushed the company to explain its rollout of new policies.
In this photo illustration, the OpenAI logo is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen with ChatGPT logo in the background. (Photo Illustration by Idrees Abbas/SOPA Images/LightRocket via / Getty Images)
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Within the next month, parents will be able to link their accounts with their teens’ accounts, control how ChatGPT responds to their teen, manage memory and chat history features and receive notifications if their child is using the technology in a moment of acute distress, according to OpenAI.
“We’ve seen people turn to it in the most difficult of moments. That’s why we continue to improve how our models recognize and respond to signs of mental and emotional distress, guided by expert input,” the company said in a statement.
High school students use laptops during a classroom lesson. (izusek / Getty Images)
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OpenAI emphasized the role medical and mental health professionals were playing in its push to improve its product. While it has already assembled a council of experts, it will be expanding the group to include those with “deep expertise” in eating disorders, substance use and adolescent health.
“Earlier this year, we began convening a council of experts in youth development, mental health, and human-computer interaction,” OpenAI said. “Their input will help us define and measure well-being, set priorities, and design future safeguards – such as future iterations of parental controls – with the latest research in mind. While the council will advise on our product, research and policy decisions, OpenAI remains accountable for the choices we make.”
OpenAI is consulting with mental health professionals as it develops ChatGPT parental controls. ( / iStock)
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The rollout comes as OpenAI faces a lawsuit in California by the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who took his own life in April 2025 after consulting ChatGPT for mental health support.
When his parents searched his phone for clues after the tragedy, they found he was interacting with ChatGPT. In their lawsuit, Raine’s parents state that “ChatGPT actively helped Adam explore suicide methods.”
OpenAI says the protocols it is rolling out over the next 120 days are only the beginning of a longer process as the company works toward making AI safer and more helpful.
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