How old do you have to be to use ChatGPT? Age rules and parent setup
ChatGPT's terms require users to be at least 13, with parental permission required under 18. Enforcement is minimal — it's an unverified birthdate at signup. OpenAI now offers parental controls that link a parent account to a teen account. For under-13s, use a supervised account on your device rather than letting them sign up alone.
The official rule
OpenAI's terms of use set the minimum age for ChatGPT at 13, and require that users between 13 and 18 have permission from a parent or guardian. Most other major AI assistants land in the same place, with some — including several Google AI features — using 18 as the default and offering supervised access below that.
That is the policy. Enforcement is a birthdate field at signup with nothing behind it. Practically speaking, any child who can type a year can create an account, which is why the real rule in your house has to be yours.
What parental controls actually exist now
OpenAI added parental controls that let a parent link their account to a teen's. Once linked, a parent can set quiet hours, turn off voice mode, disable image generation, opt the teen's conversations out of model training, and receive a notification if the system detects signs of acute distress.
What they do not do is give you a transcript of your child's conversations. That is a deliberate design choice, and worth knowing before you assume you have visibility you do not have.
A reasonable setup by age
Under 10
No independent account. If they use AI at all, it happens on your device, with you in the room, as a shared activity — "let's ask it to invent a story about a robot who is scared of the dark." The value at this age is watching an adult treat AI as a thing to be questioned.
Ages 10–12
Still no solo account under the terms, and honestly the terms are right here. Supervised sessions on a shared device, with a clear purpose each time. This is the age where the habit of checking AI's answers gets installed.
Ages 13–15
Their own account, linked to yours via parental controls, with an explicit conversation about what it is for. Set the homework rules at the same time — the account and the rules should arrive together, not six months apart.
Ages 16–18
Increasing independence, with the controls relaxed as they demonstrate judgment. At this point the useful parental role is less monitoring and more asking good questions about what they are using it for.
Is there a ChatGPT family plan?
Try it on this one
Check the homework in front of you.
Paste the assignment — or a screenshot of the AI chat — and get a plain-language read on whose thinking it is.
Not in the way most parents mean. OpenAI does not sell a household plan with per-child profiles and parental oversight built in the way streaming services do. There are business and team plans, but those are not designed for families and do not include child-appropriate safeguards.
The closest thing available today is a standard account plus the parental control linking described above.
The thing the age rule does not solve
An age gate decides when your child gets access. It does not decide whether they know what to do with it. A 13-year-old with an account and no framework is in a worse position than an 11-year-old who has spent a year watching a parent interrogate AI answers.
If you are about to hand over an account, pair it with rules for homework use on day one — our AI homework rules for families is designed to be read together and agreed to before the account is created.
Frequently asked questions
How old do you have to be to use ChatGPT?
OpenAI's terms require users to be at least 13 years old, and users under 18 need permission from a parent or guardian. Enforcement is limited to an unverified birthdate at signup.
Can a 10-year-old use ChatGPT?
Not with their own account under OpenAI's terms. A 10-year-old can use AI supervised on a parent's device as a shared activity, which is generally the better approach at that age anyway.
Does ChatGPT have parental controls?
Yes. Parents can link their account to a teen's account and set quiet hours, disable voice mode and image generation, opt out of model training, and receive alerts if the system detects signs of acute distress. Parents cannot read their teen's conversations.
Is there a ChatGPT family plan?
No. OpenAI does not offer a household plan with per-child profiles. Business and team plans exist but are not designed for families and lack child-appropriate safeguards. The closest option is a standard account with parental controls linked.
Is ChatGPT safe for a 13-year-old?
It can be, with parental controls enabled and clear rules agreed in advance. The bigger risk at 13 is not exposure to unsafe content but uncritical trust — treating confident AI answers as facts. That is addressed by teaching verification habits, not by settings.
Have a specific piece of homework in mind?
Paste it — or a screenshot of it — into the Homework Check on our homepage and ask your question. You'll get a plain-language read on whether the thinking looks like your kid's, what stood out, and the questions worth asking them. First check is free.