Google plans to roll out its AI chatbot to children under 13
The chatbot will be available to children whose parents use Family Link, a Google service that enables families to set up Gmail and opt into services such as YouTube for their child. To sign up for a child account, parents provide the tech company with personal data such as their child's name and birth date.
Gemini has specific guard rails for younger users to hinder the chatbot from producing certain unsafe content, said Karl Ryan, a Google spokesperson. When a child with a Family Link account uses Gemini, he added, the company will not use that data to train its AI.
Introducing Gemini for children could accelerate the use of chatbots among a vulnerable population as schools, colleges, companies and others grapple with the effects of popular generative AI technologies. Trained on huge amounts of data, these systems can produce humanlike text and realistic-looking images and videos.
Google and other AI chatbot developers are locked in a fierce competition to capture young users. President Donald Trump recently urged schools to adopt the tools for teaching and learning. Millions of teenagers are already using chatbots as study aids, writing coaches and virtual companions. Children's groups warn that the chatbots could pose serious risks to child safety. The bots also sometimes make stuff up.
UNICEF, the United Nation's children's agency, and other children's groups have noted that the AI systems could confuse, misinform and manipulate young children who may have difficulty understanding that the chatbots are not human. 'Generative AI has produced dangerous content,' UNICEF's global research office said in a post about AI risks and opportunities for children.
Google acknowledged some risks in its email to families this week, alerting parents that 'Gemini can make mistakes' and suggesting they 'help your child think critically' about the chatbot.
The email also recommended that parents teach their child how to fact-check Gemini's answers. And the company suggested parents remind their child that 'Gemini isn't human' and 'not to enter sensitive or personal info in Gemini.'
Despite the company's efforts to filter inappropriate material, the email added, children 'may encounter content you don't want them to see.'
Over the years, tech giants have developed a variety of products, features and safeguards for teens and children. In 2015, Google introduced YouTube Kids, a stand-alone video app for children that is popular among families with toddlers.
Other efforts to attract children online have prompted concerns from government officials and children's advocates. In 2021, Meta halted plans to introduce an Instagram Kids service — a version of its Instagram app intended for those under the age of 13 — after the attorneys general of several dozen states sent a letter to the company saying the firm had 'historically failed to protect the welfare of children on its platforms.'
Some prominent tech companies — including Google, Amazon and Microsoft — have also paid multimillion-dollar fines to settle government complaints that they violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. That federal law requires online services aimed at children to obtain a parent's permission before collecting personal information, like a home address or a selfie, from a child younger than 13.
Under the Gemini rollout, children with family-managed Google accounts would initially be able to access the chatbot on their own. But the company said it would alert parents and that parents could then manage their child's chatbot settings, 'including turning access off.'
'Your child will be able to access Gemini Apps soon,' the company's email to parents said. 'We'll also let you know when your child accesses Gemini for the first time.'
Ryan, the Google spokesperson, said the approach to providing Gemini for young users complied with the federal children's online privacy law.
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