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Are Your Kids Using Chat Bots? Here’s How to Know

By Alina Bradford

Apr 02, 2025

3 min read

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With 20+ years in tech journalism, Alina blends safety expertise with her passion for simplifying technology. Alina is also trained as a first responder and worked as a volunteer firefighter.

You probably don't want your kids talking to chatbots. Just in the last few months, Character.AI has been sued several times over its chatbots telling a kid to self-harm, giving kids hypersexualized content (such as advising a 14-year-old how to lose her virginity), encouraging suicide, and encouraging parricide. Chatbots from various sites and apps have also been found to give children questionable content, even if the app store rating qualifies it for minors.

Are Your Kids Using Chat Bots? Here's How to Know.

Image: Alina Bradford, SafeWise

How to find out if your kid is using a chatbot

Chatbots are everywhere, from Siri to Google's Gemini to Kids ChatGPT to Chatbot Zoe to Snapchat's My AI, your kid's bound to come across a chatbot, and it's so tempting to ask it questions. And if you're a kid, naughty questions can be the most fun, and the most likely to get you into trouble.

So, how do you protect your kiddo? Your best defense is using a parental control app to monitor your child's devices for bot use. Our top pick for parental control to track bot usage is Qustodio. That's because it can track web usage, app usage, and searches, all places where kids may encounter and use chatbots.

Qustodio has:

Web, app, and search monitoring
Online content filter
Safe search
Internet pausing
Daily time limits
7-days of activity reporting

Better yet, it's free to monitor one device. For more devices, you'll need a Premium Qustodio subscription. It starts at about $55 a year for five devices.

Best free version

Qustodio

Starting from$0/yr

View on Qustodio

Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

How to protect your child from chatbots

Kids can learn bad information from chatbots.

Image: Alina Bradford, SafeWise

Here are some more ways to protect your kids from chatbots:

1. Use Child-Safe Platforms

Choose apps and devices specifically designed for children, which include safety filters and parental controls.
Many platforms offer kid-friendly versions of AI tools that are moderated and limited in capabilities, so keep an eye out for those.

2. Enable Parental Controls

Use parental control apps and built-in parental control features on devices, browsers, and apps to limit access to AI chat tools.
Set up time limits and block inappropriate or non-age-appropriate content using parental control apps like Qustodio.

3. Educate Your Child

Explain what a chatbot is. Though they come in many forms, a good explanation is something in an app, website, or game that will answer questions and carry on a conversation like a real person. It isn't a real person, though, and some aren't nice. It's like a computer playing pretend as a human.
Teach your child that chatbots are not real people and explain that they should never share personal information like names, addresses, or school details.
Encourage them to talk to you if they see or hear anything that makes them uncomfortable.
Let them know that chatbots often give the wrong information, so they should always be wary of any answers they receive.

4. Supervise Use

Monitor their screen time and be present when they’re using devices that can access chatbots or AI features.
Regularly check chat logs or histories so you’re aware of the content and tone of conversations. This can help you catch any inappropriate or concerning interactions early.

5. Set Clear Rules

Create household rules about when and how chatbots or AI tools can be used, if at all. For example: Only in shared spaces, with permission, or only on school-approved apps.