Why teens use companion AI chatbots, what the genuine risks are, and how to talk about them without sounding alarmist.
Your child wants to use a companion AI chatbot — Character.AI, Replika, Snapchat's My AI, or one of the many roleplay apps. They are usually looking for a mix of entertainment, roleplay (often fan-fiction style with characters from games or shows), and someone to "talk to" without judgement. For some children it is mostly playful; for a smaller group, the chatbot becomes a substitute for talking to people, including about feelings they would otherwise raise with a parent or friend.
AI chatbots are a real new risk, not a moral panic, but they are also not in the same category as a stranger online. The genuine concerns are: chatbots that produce sexual roleplay with children, chatbots that give unsafe advice on self-harm or eating, the privacy of what your child types (it is stored), and the emotional displacement effect where a teen confides in a bot instead of a person. UK regulators are catching up. For most occasional users the harm is low; for daily multi-hour users, especially lonely or anxious teens, it can be meaningful.
Ask what they want it for — roleplay with a fictional character, homework help, or someone to talk to. The answer tells you what to worry about.
Try the app yourself for ten minutes. Make a character or a session and see what it produces. You will understand it far better than reading articles.
Set the expectation up front: what you type goes to a company's servers and can be used to train future models. Don't type anything you wouldn't put in a postcard.
Agree it is a toy, not a confidant. If they want to talk about feelings — sadness, anxiety, school stress, gender, sexuality — those conversations need to happen with you, a trusted adult, or Childline (0800 1111), not a bot.
Set a daily time cap. Multi-hour chatbot use, especially at night, is the pattern most worth interrupting.
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If a chatbot has encouraged your child to self-harm, restrict food, or harm someone else, screenshot the conversation, stop using the app, and contact your GP if you have any concern about your child's mental state. For an immediate mental-health crisis, call 999 or NHS 111. NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000 and Childline (0800 1111) can support both of you. If the chatbot has produced sexual content involving a child, this can be reported to the IWF.
ตรวจสอบล่าสุด: 2026-05-17
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