On Tuesday, OpenAI released ChatGPT for Teens, an age-gated version of its chatbot designed for young users. The company first announced it was working on a system to automatically identify teens and restrict their usage of ChatGPT last September, following the death of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who, as alleged in a lawsuit filed by his parents, took his own life after ChatGPT acted as an enabler.

"There's no need for a teen to create a new account or change anything; if we predict you're under 18, or you've told us so, this becomes your default experience," Lauren Jonas, OpenAI's head of youth and families, told Engadget. The experience is designed to nudge teens toward educational features including Study Mode and data visualizations.

While some child safety experts were more positive about the release, they all agreed ChatGPT for Teens needs extensive independent testing before being recommended. Robbie Torney, head of AI and digital assessments for Common Sense Media, stated: "The announcement makes some really important commitments, but we need evidence to show that those safety commitments and features actually work."

Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, criticized the lack of accountability mechanisms, noting that existing content restrictions around suicide, violence, and drug use "don't work or erode over time." Experts also questioned the reliability of OpenAI's automatic age-gating system and expressed concern about the feasibility of notifying parents within an hour of flagged content.