My child says an AI chatbot is their friend – what should I do?

While many children find these virtual friends fun and engaging, chatbots also pose potential risks.

AI chatbots and companion apps are popular among children who experience both benefits and risks (Alamy/PA) (Alamy/PA)

As AI becomes increasingly more entrenched into our everyday lives, a new survey has found that nearly a third of children using AI chatbots said that they would describe the technology as like one of their friends.

The poll for Vodafone, which analysed the experiences of 2,000 children aged between 11 and 16 and their parents, found that 31% who have used an AI chatbot agreed they would describe it as like a friend, with 24% reporting that they have turned to it for advice on difficult situations.

Furthermore, almost one in five (17%) reported that speaking to this technology felt safer than talking to a person.

AI is a big source of concern for many parents, so we spoke to Katie Freeman-Tayler, head of policy and research at Internet Matters, who provided some information about the benefits and risk of this technology, and shared some helpful tips on how to navigate this as a parent.

How do young children use chatbots and what are the benefits?

“When we spoke to children and young people as part of our Me, Myself and AI research last year, we found that the children who were regularly engaging with AI chatbots were using them for a range of reasons, such as for school work, advice and even for companionship,” says Freeman-Tayler.

“The positives that we saw, or were explained to us by children/young people, were mostly around learning. For example, the chatbots enabled them to practice a language that no one else at home spoke, to learn at their own pace and to work through concepts that they didn’t understand by putting information into language and examples that were easier for them to digest.

“They also reported that chatbots were helpful at providing step-by-step guidance for less sensitive topics, such as How do I learn how to French braid my hair?”

What are some potential risks of children using AI chatbots?

“We don’t necessarily know what the long-term impacts of AI chatbots are for children or adults yet, but using chatbots regularly could potentially impact young people’s critical thinking skills, given that children are still learning and developing,” notes Freeman-Tayler.

There are also concerns around how chatbots are used for companionship.

“Parents should be watching out for whether children are forming an emotional attachment to a chatbot, for example, are sharing personal information with it or relying on it for more serious advice rather than turning to a trusted adult,” highlights Freeman-Tayler.

“Our report found that vulnerable children, who may not have strong offline relationships or a trusted adult in their life, were much more likely to lean on chatbots for friendship, and were more likely to say that talking to a chatbot was like talking to a real person.”

In addition, there are also valid concerns around the accuracy and reliability of this technology.

“We found examples of chatbots disagreeing with themselves and giving inaccurate advice, which for children, who may not have developed critical thinking skills, can be quite dangerous,” says Freeman-Tayler.

Furthermore, a lot of AI chatbots aren’t built for children, but that doesn’t stop children using them.

“This might mean that children might be exposed to age inappropriate content or harmful content,” notes Freeman-Tayler.

The world of AI is still relatively new and confusing to everyone and can be a very daunting subject for many parents, so here are some tips on how to navigate AI chatbot’s usage and conversations with young children…

Ask questions

“Parents are children’s main source of information about online safety, and are often who they turn to when something goes wrong, so it’s important to have conversations with them and to ask them questions about their online life,” advises Freeman-Tayler.

Explore AI together

Supervised exploration can be beneficial for young children, so Internet Matters recommends using AI tools together so you can model safe behaviour, answer questions and set expectations early.

Explain how it works

“It’s important to ensure your child understands that they’re not talking to a real person by explaining the mechanics behind these machines,” says Freeman-Tayler.

“We know that parents often struggle with this themselves, so sites like ours, internetmatters.org, can be useful as we have lots of free resources, advice and conversation starters that parents can lean on.”

Build early critical thinking

Internet Matters also recommends asking simple questions like: “Does this make sense?” or “How can we check this?” to help your child build critical thinking skills.

Prioritise data and privacy safety

AI chatbots can collect personal information, so Internet Matters advises parents to adjust app privacy settings where possible and to teach their children about what personal data is and to remind them not to share private details.

Set clear boundaries

Internet Matters also recommends clearly setting out rules of where and when young children can use AI tools, and how they are allowed to use them, to help  to ensure that the tools are used in healthy, age-appropriate ways.