AI Platforms

AI chatbot age limits: most apps start at 13, and Claude is 18+

19 min read · Updated November 5, 2026

Most AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Meta AI and Copilot, set the minimum age at 13. Claude and companion apps such as Replika, Chai and Janitor AI are 18+. ChatGPT and Grok also require a parent’s permission for teens under 18, and the table below gives every app’s minimum age from the company’s own pages.

Every AI app’s minimum age at a glance

Many countries set a higher age, and each company’s current terms are the final word. "Not required" means the terms we read do not make it a condition. Each app’s rules are explained below, with sources, and the AI companion apps list covers the 18+ companion apps.

"AI app" is not one category with one rule. Each company writes its own minimum age into its own terms, decides whether teenagers need a parent’s permission, and decides whether younger users get a different experience. Two services your child might mention in the same breath can have completely different answers to "are they allowed on this?".

Teen modes and parental controls, app by app

"None described" means we could not find the point addressed in the company’s own terms or help pages, not that the answer is definitely no. Each row is explained, with its source, in the sections below. For what each set of controls actually lets a parent do, see parental controls in every AI app.

ChatGPT

OpenAI’s Terms of Use say users must be at least 13, or the minimum age required in their country to consent to use the service. Anyone under 18 must have a parent or legal guardian’s permission. ChatGPT is not for children under 13.

When an eligible account’s stated age, a verified age or OpenAI’s age prediction indicates the user is under 18, ChatGPT switches on an experience called ChatGPT for Teens. OpenAI says it reduces sensitive content such as graphic violence, viral challenges, sexual, romantic or violent roleplay, and extreme beauty and dieting content, and limits some features.

Parents can link their account to a teen’s to change settings such as quiet hours, voice, memory and image generation. Linking does not give a parent access to the teen’s conversations. Parental controls for ChatGPT walks through every setting.

October 2026: ten states sue OpenAI

Around October 14, 2026, Iowa, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia sued OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, under their state consumer protection laws. The Associated Press reports that each state filed its own case in state court rather than joining one national suit. The states allege that ChatGPT harmed children and deceived adults, and Arizona alleges it at times discouraged teens from sharing personal information with their parents. These are allegations, and no court has ruled on them.

On October 23, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in a state court in Collin County, making ten states in all counting Florida’s suit from June. Texas’s case goes to the age rule directly. Its petition alleges that the free version of ChatGPT has no age verification at all, and that the paid version asks for an age but does not check it. It asks the court to stop OpenAI offering ChatGPT to minors in Texas, and to require age verification and parental consent for children. These are requests, not rulings, and nothing changes for families unless a judge orders it.

OpenAI says it has built safety protections into ChatGPT for children. It says ChatGPT is meant for users 13 and older, with a parent or guardian’s permission under 18, and that the teen model has safeguards designed to reduce exposure to self-harm, violence, eating disorders and explicit sexual or graphic content. The age rule above has not changed. 8 states just sued OpenAI covers the cases in more detail.

Google Gemini

Google says you must be 13, or the applicable age in your country, to use Gemini with a personal or school Google account, and 18 to use it with a work account. The country ages come from Google’s general account rules, which set a higher age in some countries. In the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, using Gemini with a paid Google AI plan requires being 18.

Among the services reviewed here, Gemini is the only one that allows children under 13. A parent can turn Gemini Apps on or off for a supervised child’s account in Google Family Link, and gets an email the first time the child uses it. There are conditions. Google says it is still gradually releasing access for supervised accounts, so it may not be available yet. It is not available for supervised accounts in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK. And a Family Link account still cannot use the Gemini web app.

For minors signed in to a Google account, Google adds content filters, including ones meant to stop Gemini claiming to be a person or role-playing as a harmful character. Google says plainly that these filters are not perfect. Gemini parental controls covers the Family Link setup.

Claude

Anthropic’s Consumer Terms require users to be at least 18, or the minimum age to consent in their location, whichever is higher. Anthropic does not offer a teen tier, a parental permission route or parental controls, because it does not allow under-18 accounts.

Anthropic says that when it detects signals a user may be under 18, it asks them to verify their age through a third-party provider, and that it disables accounts based on indicators of minor activity. Separately, Anthropic’s policies let other organizations build products for younger users on its technology, with extra safeguards. Those are other companies’ products, not Claude itself. Anthropic says the age limit exists because younger users are at a heightened risk of adverse effects from AI chatbots. Can teens use Claude? explains the rule and the 16-year-old question, and Claude parental controls covers what to do if your teenager is using it anyway.

Character.AI

Character.AI’s terms say not to sign up if you are under 13, or under 16 and living in the EEA or UK. The terms do not describe a parental permission requirement. Separately, Apple’s US App Store rates the Character.AI app 18+.

Teens are still allowed on the platform, but open-ended chat with characters has been removed for users under 18, starting in the US in November 2025. Character.AI said similar changes for other countries would follow over the coming months, without giving dates, and at the time of this review we could not confirm which countries outside the US have them. Users it identifies as under 18 are placed in what it calls reading mode: they can browse characters, view past chats and create characters, images and videos, but cannot chat. It uses its own age assurance model alongside third-party tools to decide which experience an account gets.

Its Parental Insights feature links a teen’s account to a trusted adult. Character.AI’s FAQ, updated in August 2026, describes the teen’s screen time and a weekly email, and says the adult never sees messages. In September 2026 Character.AI said it had improved the feature with its partner k-ID, giving parents visibility into the teen’s activity on the platform, including a weekly email update. Character.AI age limit and parental controls covers the details, and Character.AI safety for teens explains why companion apps are a different kind of product.

In October 2026 Character.AI filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and began selling its assets. It says the app keeps running for now, and that if no buyer offers to keep it operating, the platform will be wound down. Character.AI age limit and parental controls covers what that means and how to download or delete an account’s data.

Meta AI

Meta’s AI Terms say you cannot use its AIs if you are under 13, or a higher age required in your country. Meta AI appears inside Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp as well as its own app, and Meta has separate AI terms for the UK, the European Region and Brazil.

Teens get a default 13+ content setting, and parents can choose a stricter one. In January 2026 Meta paused teens’ access to its separate AI characters while it builds a new version; the Meta AI assistant itself remains available. Parents using Meta’s supervision tools can see the topics their teen asked Meta AI about over the past week, but not the conversations. Meta says these features are reaching countries in stages, so what you see depends on where you live. Meta AI parental controls has the setup for each app.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft says you must be at least 13 to use Copilot, and that the minimum may be higher depending on regional requirements. Microsoft released a new Copilot app on August 18, 2026, and its help page on Copilot for young people, for that app, was checked for this guide on October 16, 2026. It says Copilot does not personalize results from a young person’s conversation history, that any ads are based on what they ask in the chat rather than other information about them, and that it checks for certain kinds of risky or harmful content. Young people can delete their chats, and Microsoft says people may review Copilot conversations for safety, legal, product improvement or troubleshooting reasons.

The same page says a parent may be able to block the Copilot app or the Copilot website, set the hours when Copilot can be used, and choose which features are available, such as image generation or voice, using Microsoft Family Safety or Apple and Google device controls. Some of these need your teen to be in your Microsoft family group. Microsoft’s Family Safety help describes blocking Copilot and limiting its time, but not switching individual features off, so check current settings. Microsoft’s terms for the new app, effective August 18, 2026, say it may turn off or limit some features for users under 18. Microsoft Copilot parental controls walks through blocking it.

Grok

Grok’s consumer terms, from SpaceX Super Intelligence (SpaceXSI), the company formerly known as xAI, require users to be at least 13, or the minimum age in their country. Teenagers from 13 to 17 need a parent or legal guardian’s permission, and the parent must agree to the terms. SpaceXSI says Grok is not directed at children under 13.

The terms mention safeguards for minors "as required by applicable law" without describing them, and warn that output may include coarse language, sexual situations or violence. The terms put the choice of features on the parent, through the service’s data controls; we found no dedicated parental controls described. Grok inside X is covered by X’s own terms rather than SpaceXSI’s, and X also sets a minimum age of 13. We could not confirm any further rules for Grok inside X beyond those terms. Apple’s US App Store rates the Grok app 16+. Grok age limit and parental controls covers Kids Mode and what parents can do.

Perplexity

Perplexity’s terms say users must be 13 or older. A minor between 13 and the age of majority where they live may use it only if a parent or guardian accepts the terms on their behalf first. We found no teen experience or parental controls described in its terms. These details come from its terms dated January 23, 2026, read on its live page on November 5, 2026. Separately, Apple’s US App Store rates the Perplexity app 18+.

Snapchat My AI

My AI is built into Snapchat, so it follows Snapchat’s own age rule: Snapchat’s minimum age is 13, and Snap says teens must declare they are at least 13 to sign up. There is no separate teen version of My AI. A parent who sets up Snapchat’s Family Center can switch on a setting that stops My AI replying to their teen, and Snap says that while it is on, My AI does not store or process the teen’s messages. Parents can see whether their teen has chatted with My AI, but not what was said. Snapchat My AI parental controls walks through the setup.

Poe

Poe, run by Quora, prohibits use by anyone under 13. Users below the age of majority where they live need a parent or legal guardian to consent to the terms and accept responsibility for their use. The terms warn that bots on Poe may produce content not suitable for minors, and do not describe a teen experience or parental controls. Because Poe gives access to many different AI models, AI apps parents should know about is a useful companion.

DeepSeek

DeepSeek’s terms say the service is primarily intended for adults, and that anyone under 18, or under the minimum age in their country, should read the terms with a legal guardian and use DeepSeek only with that guardian’s consent. We found no teen experience or parental controls described in its terms. Apple’s US App Store rates the DeepSeek app 13+.

Why age limits differ between AI services

The ages are company rules, set in each service’s terms. They sit alongside laws about children’s personal data. In the United States, COPPA sets rules for collecting personal information from children under 13. In Europe, data protection law lets each country set its own age of digital consent, between 13 and 16. Many services phrase their minimum as "13, or the age required in your country" rather than a single number.

Beyond the legal floor, the differences reflect each company’s own choices about what its product is for. A general assistant that has built a teen experience may accept 13-year-olds. A company that has decided its product is not suitable for minors may set 18. A service built around ongoing conversations with characters may allow teens on the platform while switching off the chat itself.

What if your child is under the minimum age?

Using a service below its minimum age breaks its terms, and companies can suspend or close accounts that do. Several services now look for signs of a younger user rather than relying only on the birth date entered at sign-up. It also means the protections a service builds for teens may not apply, because the account is set up as if the user were older.

• Talk about it before acting. Ask which apps they use and what for. A child who feels caught is less likely to tell you about the next one.
• Explain the reason rather than just the rule: the service was not built for their age, and its safeguards assume an older user.
• If there is a version meant for their age, such as a supervised Gemini account where available, consider offering that instead.
• If they are old enough but lied about their age, correcting the birth date can switch on the teen protections the service offers.

Age limits are not the same as parental controls

A minimum age decides who is allowed to sign up. It does not decide what happens afterwards. Meeting the age limit does not make a service safe for a particular child, and many age checks start with a birth date typed in at sign-up.

Parental controls are a separate layer. At the time of this review, the services here that describe them are ChatGPT, Gemini through Family Link, Meta AI, Microsoft Copilot through Microsoft Family Safety, Snapchat through Family Center and, in a narrower form, Character.AI. The others in the table describe none. Parental controls in every AI app compares what each one actually lets a parent change and see.

What parents should check before allowing a new AI app

1. The minimum age in the company’s own terms, and whether it is higher in your country.
2. Whether teens need a parent’s permission, and what you are agreeing to if you give it.
3. Whether the service gives under-18 users a different experience, and what changes.
4. Whether there are parental controls, and what they let you see. At the time of this review, we found no service in this guide that shares the conversations themselves with parents.
5. Whether the app is built around chatting with characters or companions, which is a different kind of product from a general assistant.
6. Whether the birth date on your child’s account is accurate, since most teen protections depend on it.

Every guide, app by app

• ChatGPT: ChatGPT age limit, ChatGPT for Teens, ChatGPT parental controls, ChatGPT safety for teens, is ChatGPT for Teens safe?, does ChatGPT tell parents?, how to see what your teen asks ChatGPT, how to block ChatGPT on iPhone, the state lawsuits against OpenAI.
• Gemini: Gemini age limit, Gemini parental controls, is Gemini safe for kids?, Google’s new school AI rules.
• Claude: Claude age limit, Claude parental controls, is Claude safe for kids?.
• Grok: Grok age limit, Grok parental controls, is Grok safe for kids?.
• Meta AI: Meta AI age limit, Meta AI parental controls.
• Snapchat My AI: Snapchat My AI age limit, Snapchat My AI parental controls, is Snapchat My AI safe for kids?.
• Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft Copilot parental controls, is Copilot safe for kids?.
• Character.AI: Character.AI age limit, how to block Character.AI.
• Other apps: is Perplexity safe for kids?, is Poe safe for kids?, is DeepSeek safe for kids?.

For companion and role-play apps such as Replika, Talkie, Chai and Janitor AI, start with AI companion apps and teens.

Where TeenCue fits

TeenCue offers AI parental controls in the awareness sense. It runs in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave on your child’s computer and covers supported AI websites, showing parents a category, a topic and a concern rating for a chat. It does not show full conversations, and it does not block AI services or check anyone’s age, so it does not replace the rules above. It does not cover phones or tablets. How TeenCue works lists the services it currently supports.