When AI becomes a friend: Child rights risks, harms, and regulatory responses to AI chatbots and companions
About
Children and young people are increasingly relying on AI chatbots not only as go-to sources for information, learning and creativity, but also for advice, support and sometimes relationships. AI chatbots and companion-like systems have moved quickly up the regulatory agenda. While few jurisdictions have adopted chatbot-specific measures, there is growing recognition that conversational and relational AI pose distinct and heightened risks for children.
There is an urgent need to shift regulatory approaches from reactive to preventive – leveraging an ecosystem approach with roles and responsibilities for a range of stakeholder groups from government to businesses and parents/caregivers, educators, and communities. This helps ensure that AI innovation advances, and does not undermine, children’s rights, safety, and well-being.
These resources are designed to support legislators, policymakers, regulators, researchers and businesses in these efforts:
- When AI becomes a friend: Child rights risks, harms, and regulatory responses to AI chatbots and companions – Policy brief (June 2026): The brief aims to inform policymaking in this emerging area from a children’s rights perspective. It examines how AI chatbots and AI companions relate to children’s rights, compares regulatory approaches across six jurisdictions (as of May 2026), and identifies priority actions to strengthen safeguards, accountability, and oversight.
- Recommendations for business (June 2026): These recommendations are drawn from UNICEF’s analysis of risks, harms, and regulatory responses to AI chatbots and companions as of May 2026. They are broadly addressed to companies operating across the AI life cycle. Their relevance may vary depending on whether the business is a developer or a deployer. The recommendations are based on international best practice and should not be treated as a compliance checklist for relevant national laws and regulations.
