Talking toy characters, storytelling and question-and-answer apps: artificial intelligence (AI) has reached products for young children. This article isn't about whether that is good or bad. It covers what international guidance and EU rules say, and which questions to ask before your child talks to an AI character.
What UNICEF says
In December 2025, UNICEF published the third version of its guidance on AI and children (the first appeared in 2020). It sets out ten requirements for child-centred AI, including:
- safety for children;
- protecting their data and privacy;
- transparency, explainability and accountability towards children;
- the child's best interests, development and well-being;
- non-discrimination and fairness.
What EU law says
Article 50 of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act says that AI systems intended to interact directly with people must be designed so that the people concerned are informed that they are interacting with an AI system. The article applies from 2 August 2026.
With a young child this matters all the more: they, too, need to understand that they aren't talking to a living being.
Seven questions before you switch it on
- Is it off by default? And can only an adult switch it on?
- Does it tell your child that a computer helps it talk?
- What happens to your child's voice? Is it stored? What is it used for?
- Are the conversations used to train AI?
- What happens if your child says something that suggests they are in trouble? Are you told?
- What can it talk about? Is there a frame to the conversation?
- Is there a daily limit, and do you set it?
Look for the answers in the privacy policy and the settings. If a question has no answer, that is an answer too.
How to explain it to your child
Short, true sentences work: "This is a play character. A computer helps it talk. It isn't a person, and it doesn't know everything." Sit together for the first few conversations, and talk afterwards about what they liked and what felt odd.
How AI Teki answers
In Teki Plus and Teki Family, Teki talks with your child with the help of artificial intelligence. Its answers to the questions above:
- it is off by default, and only you can switch it on, for each child, behind the parent PIN;
- at the start of the first conversation, Teki says that it is a play character that a computer helps to talk;
- we never store your child's voice, and the language model does not use the conversation for training;
- if your child says something that suggests they are in trouble, Teki gives no advice: it asks them to tell a grown-up and lets the family's adults know;
- Teki calls are about topics made for children, and you set the daily limit.
More detail: AI Teki
Sources
- Guidance on AI and Children, 3.0 – UNICEF Innocenti, December 2025 (read 24 September 2026)
- EU AI Act, Article 50: Transparency obligations – artificialintelligenceact.eu (read 24 September 2026)
