Family Conversations

My teen has an AI girlfriend or boyfriend. What do I do?

6 min read · Updated October 27, 2026

Stay calm and start with a conversation, not a confiscation. Find out which app it is and what your teen gets from it, then check its age limit together: most AI girlfriend and boyfriend apps, such as Replika and Nomi, are for adults only, which is a fair reason for one to go. Agree a few clear rules, and talk to their doctor if it seems to be replacing people.

You have seen the messages, the app or the name, and your teen is in a relationship with an AI. That is more common than it sounds, and it is rarely as strange from the inside as it looks from the outside. What helps most is a calm plan. The steps below take you from the first hour to the weeks after. For what these apps are and the laws that now cover them, see AI boyfriend and girlfriend apps, and for the settings each AI service offers, parental controls in every AI app. For how these apps work and what parents can do, see AI companion apps and teens.

Step 1: Before you say anything

• Take a breath. A reaction of shock or mockery is the fastest way to make sure you hear nothing more.
• Note the name of the app, not the content of the chats. You need to know what it is, not to read it all.
• Remember what it likely meets: attention, kindness, someone to talk to. The need is real, even if the partner is not.
• Choose a time to talk when neither of you is rushed or upset.

Step 2: Find out what kind of app it is

Where the relationship lives changes what you do next. There are three common cases:

The AI companion apps list covers each app, with links to TeenCue’s ratings such as Character.AI’s and Grok’s.

Step 3: Have the first conversation

Common Sense Media’s advice is to start judgment-free conversations and set healthy boundaries. Ask first and explain second. Your aim is to understand what the relationship gives your teen, and to name, without scorn, how the product works.

How to talk to your teen about AI companions has more scripts, by age.

Step 4: Decide whether the app stays

1. If it is an adult-only app, it goes. Replika and Nomi, for example, say users must be 18. The age limit is a fair reason that is not about your teen’s feelings, so lead with it.
2. If it is Character.AI, under-18 accounts cannot have open-ended chats with characters, and the app runs an age check on every user. If your teen is chatting freely, check the age on the account.
3. If it is a general assistant, make sure your teen is on its teen version. OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Teens, for example, includes rules against romantic language and encouraging emotional dependence. ChatGPT parental controls shows how to link accounts.
4. Whatever you decide, agree some limits together, as AACAP advises: when, where and for how long.

Step 5: If the app goes, do it properly

• Cancel any subscription first, because deleting the app does not stop payments. On an iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, choose the subscription and tap Cancel Subscription. On Android, open the subscriptions page in Google Play, select the subscription and tap Cancel subscription.
• Delete the account, not only the app, so the company stops holding what was said. On Character.AI this is under Manage Account & Data on the web or Remove Account in the app, and deletion is permanent. For other apps, look in settings or the help center.
• Expect it to feel like a loss. Treat it kindly, as you would a real break-up, rather than as nothing.

Step 6: The weeks after

The need the AI met does not leave with the app. Make a little more room for the real version: time with friends, an activity, or simply time with you that does not have an agenda. Check in now and then, without turning every conversation into a review. Family AI rules can help make limits feel shared rather than imposed.

When to get more help

Common Sense Media lists withdrawing from family, friends or activities, declining grades, and preferring AI interactions over real friendships as signs that need attention. The AAP says to talk with your child’s doctor if they seem withdrawn and prefer talking with chatbots rather than people, and AACAP says a primary care physician can arrange a referral to a qualified mental health professional. Signs your teen is too attached to an AI chatbot covers what to look for. In a crisis, call or text 988.

Where TeenCue fits

TeenCue does not cover companion apps such as Replika or Nomi, and it does not block anything. For supported AI websites in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Brave on a computer, including Character.AI, it shows a parent what a chat was about as a category, a topic and a concern rating, never what was typed, so a return to romantic or emotional chats can show up without anyone reading them.