Reviewed by Heard & Believed · Updated 2026-08-01
A new survey of more than a thousand U.S. teens found that after an unwanted online sexual interaction, kids are more likely to ask an AI chatbot what to do than to tell an adult right away. Here is what that pattern says about what young people actually need next.
Figures reflect Thorn's 2026 youth online safety survey, released July 28, 2026.
A child-safety nonprofit that has run this youth research for six consecutive years surveyed more than a thousand U.S. minors between the ages of nine and seventeen this year. Two-thirds of them, 67 percent, said they have used an AI chatbot or companion of some kind, a number that has been climbing steadily as the technology becomes ordinary rather than novel.
The more striking finding sat inside a smaller slice of that group. Among teens who said they had experienced an unwanted online sexual interaction, 15 percent reported turning to an AI chatbot for guidance afterward, about twice the rate of teens who reached for a chatbot after being bullied instead.
It is not hard to understand the appeal in the moment. A chatbot is available at three in the morning, does not flinch, does not make a face, and will not immediately take away a phone or a device the way a frightened parent sometimes does. For a teen who is scared, embarrassed, or unsure whether what happened was even a big deal, that can feel like the lowest-risk place to start.
Researchers involved in this work describe it as young people using whatever tool is closest at hand to process something confusing, not as evidence that they do not trust the adults around them. It is a reflex, not a verdict on any particular relationship.
A conversational tool can offer information and a place to think something through without immediate judgment, but it cannot file a report, verify whether a situation is ongoing or escalating, or connect a teen with a trained specialist who can help in real time. It also has no memory of a pattern building across weeks or months the way a parent, teacher, or counselor might notice.
That gap matters most in exactly the situations this survey highlights, cases involving unwanted sexual contact online, where a next step, blocking someone, saving evidence, or reporting to a platform, often needs a human being with context and authority behind it.
The most useful response to this research is not panic about chatbots. It is building enough trust that a teen feels safe enough to loop a person in too, even after they have already talked something through with an app. That usually means staying calm on the outside even when you are not calm on the inside, and being clear in advance about what will and will not happen if they tell you something hard.
It also helps to know, ahead of time, one real resource you can name on the spot, a hotline, a school counselor, a local advocacy center, so you are not scrambling to figure out next steps in the same moment a teen is finally ready to talk.
None of this requires being a tech expert. It mostly requires being predictable, calm, and specific.
This is supportive information, not legal or medical advice. If you need someone now, the RAINN hotline is 800-656-4673 — free and confidential, 24/7.
Not necessarily. Researchers describe this as reflecting how comfortable this generation is with the format, not a rejection of the adults in their life. It is an opening to talk about what a chatbot can and cannot do.
The survey defined it broadly, and researchers found the reported rate climbs even higher once deepfakes and sextortion attempts are included alongside more familiar unwanted messages or images.
It can offer information and a low-pressure place to think something through, but researchers behind this survey are clear that a chatbot is not a substitute for a trusted adult or a trained support specialist.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline and child-safety organizations like the one behind this survey offer guidance built specifically for these situations, including help for parents who are unsure what to say first.
Share only what feels okay. We’ll gently connect you with confidential support — no pressure, no cost.
Someone caring will reach out within a day. If you need to talk now, RAINN is here 24/7 at 800-656-4673.