October 25, 2026
A recent report published by Euronews revealed that there is a wide gap between the rates of children’s use of artificial intelligence tools and the extent of their parents’ awareness of this use, amid mounting warnings of the dangers resulting from dealing with these technologies without adequate guidance.
The report was based on an opinion poll conducted by YouGov and commissioned by the German organization Interface, which included a sample of 970 children and adolescents and 1,138 parents, with children aged between 11 and 17 years.
The survey results showed that 40% of French children between the ages of 11 and 12 use general artificial intelligence tools on a weekly basis, while only 26% of their parents are aware of this, which reflects a clear underestimation by parents of the extent of their children’s use of these technologies.
The data also showed that regular surveys of generative artificial intelligence increase with age. Its use rate reached 56% among children between 11 and 12 years old, and rose to 62% for the age group between 13 and 15 years old, reaching 70% among teenagers between the ages of 16 and 17 years old.
Regarding the effects of these technologies, the survey revealed that 92% of young users spend more time with artificial intelligence tools than they would like, while 42% of parents admitted that they do not receive any support to help them guide their children to use these tools responsibly.
In the same context, Jessica Galeser, a policy researcher at Interface, warned that chatbots supported by artificial intelligence may give children the impression that they are an always available friend, which calls for the need to educate them about the limits of these technologies and their potential dangers.
The report concluded that parental control measures and age restrictions alone are not sufficient to provide the necessary protection for children, stressing the importance of concerted efforts and joint cooperation between families, schools and technology companies to ensure the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence.
