ChatGPT introduced new features to help teens study without doing their homework for them. The tool uses Study Hours and Quiet Hours to manage access. Parents can now control settings from their own accounts. These updates aim to guide students through complex problems while keeping them focused on actual learning.

The parent usually finds out only when the test result comes in low despite a perfect homework record, because the assignment looked fine on paper the whole time. Sitting beside a teenager to check every chat isn't realistic on a school night, and taking the phone away just moves the problem to a friend's laptop.

Hit a wall (teen): Stuck on a stoichiometry problem, she types, "Help me work this out without giving me the answer," then "Give me a hint for the next step," and once she has a go at it, "Show me where I went wrong"

Try the shortcut, get redirected (teen, then the system): For history, she types, "write my history assignment," and a homework reminder steers her back into Study Mode instead of finishing it for her, so she follows up with, "Help me explore the key arguments and build my response step by step"

Revise for the test (teen): She asks, "Quiz me on this chapter and make the questions harder as I improve," then closer to the exam, "Help me create a 30-minute revision plan" and "Ask me five questions to test what I remember without my notes"

Close the loop (teen): She ends with, "Based on my answers, what should I revise again?" so tomorrow's session builds on tonight's

Stay hands-off (parent): None of the above required opening a single chat, Quiet Hours ends access at 9pm regardless of where she left off

What makes ChatGPT for Teens special?

Routines, not readouts: Study Hours and Quiet Hours shape access without reading a single transcript

One account, two experiences: Parents manage voice, image generation, and sensitive-content settings from their own login

Safety built in: high-risk self-harm situations can trigger a direct parent notification

Mint's ‘AI tool of the week’ is excerpted from Leslie D'Monte's weekly TechTalk newsletter. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your email inbox.