Advancing youth safety and opportunity through global leadership

AI can be a powerful tool for young people. It can help students understand a difficult concept, practice a new language, prepare for a job interview, explore creative ideas, or learn a new skill. Just as the literacy movement spread across the globe in the middle of the 20th century required mass distribution of printed text and access to trained teachers, today providing access to safe AI will unlock new opportunities for personalized learning, help reduce barriers for the underserved, and increase workforce readiness.

Because the potential benefits are so significant, it is essential that young people can access AI in ways that are safe, age-appropriate, and supportive of healthy development. That responsibility should not fall primarily on parents or young people themselves. Companies, including OpenAI, have a responsibility to build products with appropriate safeguards by default, while empowering families with tools and information to guide how AI is used.

When Heads of State gather at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Évian, France, later this month, the topic of youth AI safety will be a key focus. OpenAI will join to discuss greater collaboration on youth safety, how we can work together to raise industry standards, and OpenAI's new call for an international youth safety institute to be established.

The G7 Leaders’ Summit represents a rare opportunity for global coordination on youth safety. But a dedicated institute would provide the continuity and follow-through needed beyond a single summit, helping governments, researchers, civil society, and industry keep working together to share evidence, develop guidance, and raise standards over time.

There are several credible ways this could be done: through a new international institute, or by giving an existing or newly established national AI institute a global mandate to share research, evidence, and guidance with partners around the world. What matters most is the function it serves. Youth AI safety needs sustained attention, trusted evidence, and practical guidance that can keep pace with the technology.

Such an institute can build on emerging initiatives such as Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute, supported by the OpenAI Foundation, as well as practical collaborations with educators, including OpenAI’s work with the American Federation of Teachers⁠. It should also draw on real-world deployments, such as Estonia’s national ChatGPT rollout in schools, where OpenAI is working with Stanford and Estonian researchers to study impact and inform safer, more effective use in learning.

OpenAI welcomes the opportunity to work with the French Government, other G7 governments, and partners across civil society, academia, and industry on this vital work and to raise global standards on youth safety.

We believe strong AI youth safety frameworks, including any potential agreement reached at G7 convenings, should be led by principles that we are setting out here.

The principles are reflected in how we build and operate ChatGPT, from model behavior and product design to expert input and real-world support. We have strengthened safeguards for users under 18, launched parental controls⁠ with proactive notifications, and advanced age-prediction systems⁠ so ChatGPT can apply stronger protections when someone may be under 18. Our Model Spec, which outlines how our models should behave, also includes dedicated principles for users under 18⁠(opens in a new window), prioritizing teen safety, age-appropriate experiences, real-world support, and clear expectations. In practice, this means stronger guardrails around self-harm, dangerous activities, graphic content, body image, and secrecy, along with encouragement to seek trusted offline support or crisis resources when needed. When age is uncertain, we default to stronger safeguards.

AI designed with strong safeguards and offered with clear guidance, and support from families and educators, can help young people safely benefit from tools that expand learning, creativity, and opportunity. AI can help students understand difficult concepts, practice languages, improve their writing, learn to code, organize research, explore creative ideas, and prepare for jobs that are already changing. Through Education for Countries⁠, OpenAI is working with governments and educators on research-driven deployments, localized learning tools, and teacher training so AI adoption is grounded in evidence and real classroom needs. This work is already supporting national education efforts with our partner countries including Estonia⁠, Greece⁠, and Singapore⁠.

In addition to participation in the Leaders’ Summit, we will bring the OpenAI Forum⁠(opens in a new window) to Paris to convene a practical conversation on how governments, researchers, civil society, educators, and industry can turn shared youth safety goals into concrete safeguards, standards, and implementation practices. France's Ambassador for AI and Digital Affairs, Clara Chappaz, will join OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, youth safety leaders from iRaise/Everyone.AI, and other experts for a discussion on how young people can benefit from AI while reducing risks.