Meta is facing allegations it fostered addictive behavior in teens and children in a legal dispute that could brook the company a $200 billion penalty. OpenAI is making an effort to do better by teens.

On Tuesday, OpenAI released ChatGPT for Teens, a version of the chatbot geared toward 13- to 17-years-olds that contains more guardrails for young users and additional parental controls.

"Our goal is for teens to use AI responsibly to learn, create and explore," OpenAI spokesperson Eric Porterfield told CNBC Make It over email.

Among the tool's new features are "study mode," which can help teens work through homework or prepare for a quiz, a potential reminder to check for sensitive information before sharing an image and safeguards to "help reduce exposure to sensitive or potentially harmful content," according to a post by the San Francisco-based company. Some features must be enabled manually.

"This new teen experience makes some really important safety commitments," says Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at kids' safety nonprofit Common Sense Media. Still, he says, when it comes to these new guardrails, "the real question is, does any of this work?"

Based on previous OpenAI releases and other companies' AI tools, here's what he says parents should keep in mind about ChatGPT for Teens.

Among its features, ChatGPT for Teens will send a safety notification to parents with linked accounts "in limited high-risk situations," for example. What Torney doesn't know is how reliable the system is in identifying those dangers. "If those alerts don't work often enough, or if they don't work fast enough, that could give parents a false sense of security," he says.

Another big question is how easily teens can bypass new guardrails. After three hours of continuous use, ChatGPT for Teens prompts a user to take a break, but it doesn't enforce it, says Porterfield. "We defer to their judgment on whether to step away."

Many of ChatGPT for Teen's new features are education oriented. A majority, 63% of 13-to 17-year-old teens seek an answer for schoolwork from AI rather than working their way through it, according to a Common Sense Media survey of 1,017 U.S. teens released on Tuesday.

If a teen is adamant about simply getting the answer from the bot without doing the work, says Torney, "it's really going to be a question of how much does ChatGPT resist or prevent the teen from just getting the answer."

Finally, a major critique of the bot has been its sycophancy, or its flattering and agreeable nature, which experts say encourages engagement.

And though, according to a post by OpenAI, ChatGPT for Teens "should not use romantic language, encourage emotional dependence, or imply that it has feelings or consciousness," the new product allows users to "increase the warmth or the enthusiasm that ChatGPT uses," says Torney. "You can tell it to use more or less emojis." That could still make the product more engaging for teens.

A hot tip for parents: Enable every new feature the bot offers like study hours and quiet hours, says Torney. And remember, in the context of these new guardrails, "we don't know how much they work or when they don't work," he says. Don't let them lull you into a false sense of security about what your child is seeing and continue an open line of communication about their use of ChatGPT.

If your teen uses ChatGPT to do their homework, ask if you can peak at a final product like an essay or a math worksheet to see what they're learning, he says.

When it comes to advice for teens, 39% percent say they feel like they're missing out on learning when they use AI, according to the Common Sense Media survey. If you're a young person using the bot, "just be conscious," says Torney. "If you feel like the chatbot is doing more of the heavy lifting, you're probably not getting the educational experience or the learning that you would hope to."

And while ChatGPT and other chatbots are always available, there are benefits that can only come from reaching out to other people, like human connection. Before you turn to a bot for help on any number of things, educational or personal, ask yourself, "am I missing out on the opportunity to connect with my friend, my mom, my grandmother?" says Torney. That opportunity may be far more valuable long-term than just getting an assignment in on time. Ask yourself: "Is this taking away from that time?"

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