What is ChatGPT? A Parent’s Guide

Updated – Originally published April 27, 2023

Many parents remember the days of asking Jeeves or texting ChaCha, followed by Siri and Alexa answering our questions. Now, there’s ChatGPT (or “Chat” as the kids like to call it) — a powerful AI chatbot that’s been around since late 2022 and has quickly become a go-to tool for everything from answering questions to writing essays.

Chances are, you’ve already used ChatGPT yourself. But when it comes to kids, there are important things to consider. While it can be a great tool for learning and creativity, it also comes with risks like misinformation, privacy concerns, and the temptation to rely on AI a little too much. This guide will break down what parents need to know to help their kids use ChatGPT safely and responsibly.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a San Francisco-based large language model created by Open AI, an artificial intelligence research laboratory. 

It’s designed to generate human-like responses by analyzing vast amounts of text data. Unlike search engines that pull direct information from the web, ChatGPT generates answers based on patterns it has learned.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 by several prominent figures in tech, including Elon Musk and Sam Altman. When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, it set a record as the fastest-growing platform in history, reaching one million users in its first week.Since then, other companies have introduced their own AI chatbots, including Microsoft’s Copilot, Meta’s LLaMA, and Google’s Gemini. With AI tools becoming more widespread, it’s important for parents to understand their impact and potential risks for kids.

Exploring GPTs

In late 2024, OpenAI introduced the GPT Store, where users can explore customized AI models designed for specific needs, such as personal finance, fitness, and more. This feature, found under “Explore GPTs” in the menu, makes AI more accessible—but also requires parental guidance to ensure safe use.

How Does ChatGPT Work?

ChatGPT is a conversational AI model that works by predicting the most likely next word in a sentence based on the context you provide. Here’s a simple breakdown of how it works:

1. Training on Data

• ChatGPT is trained on massive amounts of text from books, websites, and other written sources.
• During training, it learns patterns, grammar, facts, and even some reasoning abilities by processing billions of examples.

2. Understanding Input

• When you type a message, ChatGPT analyzes the text to understand its meaning and context.
• It doesn’t “understand” like humans do but recognizes patterns and relationships between words.

3. Generating Responses

• Using a neural network architecture called transformers, ChatGPT predicts the next word (or token) one step at a time.
• It selects the most likely words based on everything you’ve said so far, forming coherent and relevant replies.

4. Fine-Tuning and Safety

• It’s fine-tuned using specific guidelines to make responses more helpful, and aligned with user needs.
• It also has filters that attempt to block inappropriate content and handle a range of topics carefully.

5. Constant Learning

• While ChatGPT doesn’t learn from individual conversations, developers update and improve the model using feedback and new data.

ChatGPT’s knowledge is currently up to date until June 2024, meaning it can generate responses on events and topics up to that point that are pretty accurate, though keep in mind it can make mistakes. For anything beyond June 2024, ChatGPT can search the web to pull in real-time data and current events.

Using ChatGPT is simple: visit the website or app, type a question in the prompt box, and receive a response. While no login is required to use it, an account is needed to save conversations and access them later.

ChatGPT is free, but the paid ChatGPT Plus version offers faster responses and access to more advanced models.

What ChatGPT Can Do

• Provide answers about general knowledge
• Discuss topics such as math, history, technology, etc.
• Give definitions
• Supply explanations
• Offer advice
• Write reports, poems, and articles

ChatGPT Will Not 

• Promote hate speech or discrimination
• Facilitate illegal activities
• Impart personal beliefs or opinions
• Comment on confidential information
• Provide any information post 2021

How ChatGPT was Created

ChatGPT was trained using large amounts of text data from books, articles, and websites. As users interact with it, OpenAI fine-tunes its responses to improve accuracy. However, it doesn’t have complete autonomy and can only generate responses based on what it has learned.

Does ChatGPT Save Data?

Yes, ChatGPT saves conversations when users are logged in. OpenAI collects account information (such as name and contact details) and user content (such as prompts and uploaded files). 

Any data shared with ChatGPT can potentially become public. Samsung learned this the hard way when proprietary data was shared with ChatGPT. Parents can teach kids digital citizenship skills, such as keeping private information private.

The Pros and Cons of ChatGPT for Kids

Just like a search engine, ChatGPT can provide users with specific or broad answers to their questions. It can also generate more substantial content — a book report, a poem, the solution to a math problem that shows the work, and even give some sound advice.

ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers. By its own admission, Chat GPT may “generate incorrect or misleading information and produce offensive or biased content.” 

OpenAI co-founder and CEO, Sam Altman,  called ChatGPT a “horrible product” on the New York Times tech podcast Hard Fork. This critique is in part due to ChatGPT internal server errors, site crashes, shortcomings with integration, and ChatGPT errors on long responses. 

In the following example, Chat GPT provides misinformation that Mount Everest is in the United States. In fact, it borders Nepal and China.

Pros

• Quick Access to Information – ChatGPT provides fast, easy-to-understand answers without sifting through multiple web pages.
• Acts as a Tutor – ChatGPT can remember what was previously discussed in the chat and ask or respond to follow up questions. These explanations are tailored to the child’s understanding.
• Encourages Creativity – Kids can use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, write poems, and explore creative writing prompts.
• Homework Help – It can explain concepts, offer math solutions with step-by-step instructions, and generate essay outlines. (Example below)

Cons

• Misinformation – ChatGPT can generate inaccurate information. Kids should verify responses with trusted sources.
• Plagiarism & Overreliance – Using ChatGPT to complete schoolwork without understanding the material can hurt long-term learning.
• Lack of Critical Thinking – Kids may accept AI-generated answers without questioning their accuracy or bias.
• Privacy Risks – Sharing personal information with AI tools can pose security risks.
• Potential for Inappropriate Content – While ChatGPT has safety filters, no AI is perfect. Some chatbots can be manipulated to bypass restrictions.
• Child Exploitation – By far the worst outcome from AI created content is the ability and ease in which pedophiles can create child abuse materials. The influx of AI-generated content has led to the creation of many uncensored chatbots that allow pedophiles to circumvent filters and controls.

Can ChatGPT Harm Learning?

While it’s still too early to say definitively, early research suggests generative AI tools like ChatGPT can harm learning. One study conducted with 1,000 high school students found that access to ChatGPT initially improved results but when access when then removed, results plummeted. The researchers’ conclusion: “students attempt to use GPT-4 as a ‘crutch’ during practice problem sessions, and when successful, perform worse on their own.”

Can ChatGPT Write Essays?

Yes, ChatGPT can write essays with correct grammar. It can provide comprehensive information on a topic, and even include insights, and analyses. By reading these on-the-spot essays, kids can get ideas for their own essays. ChatGPT can even provide the child with an outline to help them organize their thoughts, or clean up a finished essay. Rules on how much a child can use ChatGPT while writing essays and papers may vary from teacher to teacher.

Is ChatGPT Plagiarism? 

Turning in answers or an essay written by ChatGPT is considered plagiarism and is unethical. If a student is caught, plagiarism can lead to failed assignments, failed courses, suspension, teacher biases on future assignments, or school expulsions. 

Some schools have started banning ChatGPT from school devices due to the ease with which kids can cheat on assignments. Plagiarism threatens the foundations of knowledge. Plagiarism destroys the links to past knowledge by refusing readers access to sources.

Though it’s a serious ethical violation, teachers may not be able to detect plagiarism on their own as ChatGPT supplies a different response to each individual user. Questions and answers received from ChatGPT are a starting point for further research. Parents can monitor their children and teach them to consider a variety of sources and viewpoints to properly identify biases and then form their own opinions.

DALLᐧE 3

Another creation by OpenAI is DALL-E 3, a text-to-image generation model. Previous versions of DALL-E were separate platforms, but as of September 2023, it has been integrated with ChatGPT. This allows users to generate images directly within ChatGPT through conversational prompts. 

DALL-E 3 can create photorealistic images, illustrations, and even emoji-style visuals, allowing users to explore various artistic styles and themes.

In the image above, DALL-E 3 created the image from the prompt, “Create a colorful illustration of a smiling cartoon rabbit playing with butterflies in a sunny meadow, in the style of a children’s book.”

Is ChatGPT Safe for Kids?

Like all technology, there are pros and cons to ChatGPT. We’ve highlighted some of these above. Parents are the best judges when it comes to choosing what is safe for their children. 

ChatGPT sets a minimum age of 13 to use their platform, but there’s no process to verify the age. ChatGPT has great benefits, but there are pitfalls to be wary of. 

Protecting Kids While Using ChatGPT

AI is here to stay, and rather than fearing it, parents can equip their children with the skills to use it wisely through digital citizenship. 

1. Set Clear Guidelines – Teach kids how to use ChatGPT responsibly for learning, not as a shortcut.
2. Encourage Fact-Checking – Remind them to verify information from multiple sources.
3. Monitor Usage – Keep AI interactions in shared spaces and check their conversations.
4. Talk About Privacy – Make sure kids understand not to share personal details online.
5. Discuss Ethical Use – Help them understand plagiarism and why using AI for schoolwork should support, not replace, their learning.

By teaching kids how to engage with AI responsibly, verify information, and protect their privacy, we can ensure that ChatGPT and similar tools become valuable assets rather than risks.

How are you helping your kids navigate the use of AI? Let us know in the comments!