OpenAI Updates ChatGPT for Teens with College Planner and Study Tools
OpenAI has expanded the capabilities of ChatGPT for Teens, introducing a dedicated College Planner and new study tools designed to help students manage academic workloads and college applications. These updates aim to provide accessible planning and learning support to students regardless of their financial circumstances.
College Planner for Academic Transition
OpenAI is introducing College Planner to help high school students in the US (specifically grades 10–12) manage the practical requirements of applying to four-year colleges. The tool is designed to centralize application requirements, deadlines, tasks, and financial-aid steps into a single plan.
Key capabilities of the College Planner include:
- Application Management: Students can track progress across multiple schools, use a timeline to plan ahead, and ask ChatGPT for clarification on specific requirements.
- Financial Aid Support: The tool helps students understand financial aid requirements, track aid deadlines, and explore fee waivers and scholarships.
- Future Expansion: OpenAI plans to expand the tool to more countries and include support for two-year colleges, trade schools, and technical colleges.
To complement the digital tool, OpenAI is supporting the College Advising Corps, a nonprofit that places graduates as advisers in under-resourced high schools. This partnership includes an AI fellowship program to test practical AI applications for navigating the path to higher education.
Enhanced Study and Learning Tools
OpenAI has added several features to streamline how students convert class materials into active study aids:
- Multi-Photo Capture: Available on iOS (with Android support coming), students can photograph multiple pages of notes to automatically combine them into a single PDF for upload to ChatGPT.
- Flashcards: Students can upload notes or select a topic to generate flashcards. These decks are saved in the user's Library, allowing students to mark known cards, shuffle decks, and schedule practice tasks via ChatGPT.
- Interactive Quizzes: ChatGPT now features improved recognition of quiz requests and allows students to upload notes to generate interactive quizzes directly in the chat.
Usage Patterns and Digital Wellbeing
Early data on ChatGPT for Teens indicates a strong preference for learning-related activities. Teens with access to ChatGPT for Teens sent an average of 2.7 million more learning-related messages than those without it. The most frequent conversation starters include asking for feedback on drafts, developing ideas, and checking evidence.
Usage statistics highlight a focus on productivity over passive consumption:
- Daily Usage: On average, teens spend under 15 minutes per day on the platform.
- Break Reminders: Built-in reminders encourage teens to take breaks. In nearly half of the conversations where a reminder appeared, users took a break or ended the session within five minutes.
- Engagement: Less than 2% of teens spend more than three consecutive hours on the platform; of those who do, over 80% have at least one prompt related to learning.
Teen-Led Product Development
OpenAI is partnering with Boston Children–s Hospital’s Digital Wellness Lab and its Student Advisory Council for three years. For the 2026–27 school year, approximately 22 students (ages 14†) will work across two tracks:
- Digital Wellbeing: 12 students focusing on community projects.
- AI Development: 10 students focusing on building AI chatbots and emerging technology.
These students will test tools and provide recommendations on AI literacy, parental controls, notifications, and teen safety defaults to ensure that teen users have a direct influence on product and model decisions.