{
  "id": 12659785,
  "title": "OpenAI says teens use ChatGPT for under 15 minutes a day as worries over risks grow",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/openai-says-teens-use-chatgpt-for-under-15-minutes-a-day-as-worries",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-07T16:02:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CNA - Business",
    "slug": "cna-business",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/openai-says-teens-use-chatgpt-under-15-minutes-day-worries-over-risks-grow-6440201"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a report released on Wednesday, OpenAI disclosed that teenagers typically engage with ChatGPT for less than 15 minutes daily, with less than 2 percent of users interacting with the chatbot for over three consecutive hours. The company's first report on teen usage comes amid growing scrutiny over the potential risks AI chatbots may pose to children's mental health and developmental safety. Research on the impact of social media on young users has heightened concerns, with Meta recently agreeing to pay up to $18 billion and limit teen usage of its platforms to address allegations of designing them to addict children.\n\nOpenAI reported that, in nearly half of teen conversations with a break reminder, users either took a break or ended the chat within five minutes, suggesting that their efforts to regulate teen usage were effective. Users with access to the dedicated teen version of ChatGPT sent more education-related messages and utilized tools like learning visualizations and Study Mode. The company is now working on adding a college application planning tool and new study features such as flashcards and easier quiz-making tools. OpenAI introduced ChatGPT for Teens in August, which activates automatically based on age information or when a user is estimated to be under 18 years old. This mode enables parental controls and restricts conversations on sensitive topics. However, a report by non-profit Common Sense Media, based on over a dozen test accounts, found that ChatGPT for Teens often fails to alert parents promptly when teen accounts discuss suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders. The study noted that the chatbot did not reliably suggest a crisis hotline or professional help. OpenAI attributed the delayed alerts to the time needed to link parent and teen accounts and for safety alerts to become active, citing security and scale as reasons for the delay.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Teenagers use ChatGPT for less than 15 minutes daily.",
    "Less than 2% of users interact for over three hours.",
    "Dedicated teen version includes parental controls and restricted topics."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "OpenAI says teens use ChatGPT for under 15 minutes a day as worries over risks grow",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/openai-says-teens-use-chatgpt-for-under-15-minutes-a-day-as-worries-12660898",
        "published": "2026-10-07T16:02:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "OpenAI says teens use ChatGPT for under 15 minutes a day as worries over risks grow",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/openai-says-teens-use-chatgpt-for-under-15-minutes-a-day-as-worries-12666789",
        "published": "2026-10-07T16:09:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "OpenAI says teens use ChatGPT for under 15 minutes a day as worries over risks grow",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/openai-says-teens-use-chatgpt-for-under-15-minutes-a-day-as-worries-12665001",
        "published": "2026-10-07T16:47:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}