OpenAI has faced enormous pressure in recent months to address concerns that its flagship product, ChatGPT, is unsafe for teens.
The AI-powered chatbot is at the heart of several wrongful death lawsuits, which allege it coached teens to commit suicide or did not respond appropriately to their suicidal feelings. A recent public service announcement depicted some of these exchanges, depicting chatbots as creepy humans who harm children. OpenAI has denied the allegations in one case, the suicide death of 16-year-old Adam Ren.
On Thursday, OpenAI published a blog post about its ramped-up safety efforts and committed to “putting teen safety first, even when it conflicts with other goals.”
Submit the post Update to its model specificationswhich guides how its AI models behave. A new set of principles for users under 18 will specifically inform how models react in high-stakes situations.
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OpenAI said the ChatGPT update should provide a “safe and age-appropriate experience” for users aged 13 to 17 by prioritizing prevention, transparency and early intervention.
“This means teens must face stronger guardrails, safer alternatives, and encouragement for reliable offline support when conversations move into riskier territory,” the post read. ChatGPT is designed to prompt teens to contact emergency services or crisis resources when imminent danger appears.
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When users log in as under 18, safeguards should make ChatGPT take more care when discussing topics like self-harm, suicide, romantic or sexual role-playing, or keeping secrets related to risky behavior, according to the company.
The American Psychological Association provided OpenAI with feedback on an early draft of the Under-18 Guidelines, according to the post.
“Children and adolescents may benefit from AI tools if they are balanced with the human interactions that science shows are essential for social, psychological, behavioral, and even biological development,” Dr. Arthur C. Evans Jr., CEO of the American Psychological Association, said in the post.
OpenAI also offers teens and parents two new features AI literacy guides vetted by experts. The company said it is in the early stages of implementing an age prediction model for users with ChatGPT consumer plans.
Child safety and mental health experts recently declared that AI-powered chatbots are unsafe for teens’ discussions about their mental health. Last week, OpenAI announced that its latest model, ChatGPT-5.2, is “safer” for mental health.
If you are feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to someone. You can call or text 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or The Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text “START” to the crisis text line at 741-741. Call the NAMI Helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM ET, or email [email protected]. If you don’t like the phone, consider using it 988 Suicide and Crises Lifeline Chat. Here a List of international resources.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that it infringed Ziff Davis’s copyright in training and operating its AI systems.