• Feature to Estimate Users’ Age for Teen Protection
• Protection from Sensitive Content, Alerts for Parents, and Monitoring Tools

OpenAI announced the rollout of an age-estimation feature on ChatGPT consumer plans, aimed at identifying accounts likely belonging to users under 18, in order to apply the appropriate experience and implement necessary safeguards to protect teenagers.

This comes as part of the company’s previously announced "Teen Protection Plan" and "Model Behavior Principles for Under 18s," emphasizing that young people deserve technology that expands opportunities while safeguarding their well-being.

According to the company, the feature reinforces existing safeguards, giving teens who declare their age at sign-up additional protection to reduce exposure to sensitive or harmful content.

OpenAI explained that the age-estimation model relies on a set of behavioral signals and account-level data, including account age, typical activity times, usage patterns, and the age provided by the user.

The model allows for continuously improving and updating the accuracy of age estimation.

If an adult is mistakenly placed in the teen experience, they can easily verify their age and regain full access through the Persona identity verification service using a personal photo.

The company added that accounts estimated to belong to teens will automatically be subject to additional controls to reduce exposure to sensitive content.

Parents can further customize their children’s experience via parental control tools, including setting screen time limits, managing features such as memory or model training, and receiving alerts if signs of severe distress are detected.

OpenAI noted that the feature will be implemented in the European Union in the coming weeks to meet regional requirements.