OpenAI is officially joining the crowd of tech companies trying to gatekeep their services based on age. The company just started a global rollout of a new age-prediction tool. This system doesn’t just rely on what you tell them; it tries to figure out your age by watching how you behave.
According to OpenAI, the model analyzes several signals. It looks at how long you’ve had your account, the specific times of day you’re online, and your general usage habits over time. If the AI decides you are a minor when you’re actually an adult, you’ll have to jump through some hoops to fix the error. You will need to submit a selfie via the third-party platform Persona to verify your identity and regain full access.
This new push for age verification isn’t just about general safety. OpenAI is getting ready to launch an “adult mode.” This feature will allow users to generate and interact with NSFW (not safe for work) content. For a long time, the company blocked most mature content. Still, it is now pivoting to give adults more freedom—provided they can prove they are actually adults.
Critics point out that OpenAI usually adds safety features only after something goes wrong. For example, the company recently faced a wrongful death lawsuit involving a teenager who allegedly used ChatGPT to help plan his suicide. It was only after that tragedy that OpenAI began talking about automatic restrictions for kids and setting up a mental health council.
Even with these new tools, there’s no guarantee they will work. Other platforms, like Roblox, have struggled for years to keep kids out of adult spaces. Teens are tech-savvy and often find ways to bypass filters and verification checks. By layering these protections on top of an existing product, OpenAI is playing catch-up. Whether a selfie and a behavioral algorithm can actually protect young users remains to be seen, especially as the company opens the door to more explicit content.
