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Responding to growing concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on teenagers, Meta is rolling out enhanced parental controls for Instagram users. These new features are designed to give parents greater oversight and control over their children’s interactions with AI chatbots on the platform. Specifically, parents will gain the ability to restrict their teens’ access to AI chatbots entirely, or block specific chatbot personas deemed inappropriate. The move comes after increased scrutiny of AI’s potential influence on young people, including reports of inappropriate or romantic exchanges. Instagram head Adam Mosseri and Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, unveiled the forthcoming updates, which will also equip parents with information about the topics their children are discussing with AI characters. Meta believes this insight will facilitate meaningful conversations between parents and their children regarding AI usage and online safety. The initial rollout is scheduled for early next year, targeting English-speaking users in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Meta intends to eventually broaden the controls across its suite of platforms. This marks one of the most significant safety updates since the introduction of Meta’s AI chatbots across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.