Meta will give parents more visibility over how teens are using its AI assistant, with new topic insights rolling out for supervised Teen Accounts.
In the next few weeks, parents using supervision on Facebook, Messenger or Instagram in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and Brazil will be able to see the topics their teen has asked Meta AI about over the past seven days.
The feature will appear in a new Insights section in Family Center. Meta said the tool is designed to help parents better understand the general themes their teens are exploring with AI, rather than provide full transcripts of conversations.
What parents will see
Parents will be able to view broad topic areas their teen has asked Meta AI about in a specific app. These may include school, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, writing, and health and wellbeing.
Parents can also tap into each topic to see related categories. For example, lifestyle may include fashion, food and holidays, while health and wellbeing may include fitness, physical health and mental health.
Meta said the feature is an early step, with the company planning to keep listening to feedback from parents and experts as it expands the tool globally in the coming months.
AI protections for Teen Accounts
The new insights build on Meta’s existing AI protections for Teen Accounts. The company said its AI experiences for teens have been shaped by 13+ movie ratings criteria and parent feedback.
Meta said this means Meta AI should not provide responses that would feel inappropriate for a 13+ audience. In some cases, the assistant may decline to answer a question or direct teens to resources instead.
Parents will still be shown the topic their teen asked about, even when Meta AI does not respond to the question.
For conversations related to suicide and self-harm, Meta said it is developing new alerts to proactively notify parents if their teen attempts to engage with Meta AI on those issues.
Helping parents discuss AI
Meta has also worked with Dr Sameer Hinduja, co-founder of the Cyberbullying Research Center, to create conversation starters for parents.
The open-ended questions are designed to help parents discuss AI with teens in a non-judgmental way. Each question will include guidance explaining what it is designed to address and how parents can approach the discussion.
The conversation starters will be available in Meta’s Help Center and through the new Insights section in Family Center.
Meta launches AI Wellbeing Expert Council
Meta has also introduced its AI Wellbeing Expert Council, a group of experts that will provide ongoing input on AI experiences for teens.
The council includes members from Meta’s existing Suicide and Self-Harm Advisors, Youth Advisors, and Body Image Experts groups, alongside new members with expertise in responsible and ethical AI.
Meta teams will meet with the council regularly to share updates on AI products for teens and gather feedback for policy and product teams.
The company said the council has already provided input into the new parent insights feature.