As AI becomes part of kids' response to online harm, new Thorn research finds children turning to chatbots for guidance after online sexual interactions

Annual survey of more than 1,000 U.S. kids ages 9 to 17 finds young people who experienced an online sexual interaction were twice as likely to seek help from an AI chatbot as kids who were bullied online

LOS ANGELES, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from Thorn, a nonprofit that builds technology to defend children from sexual abuse and exploitation in the digital age, reveals that AI chatbots and companions are becoming part of how kids navigate confusing, distressing, and potentially harmful online experiences.

According to Thorn's latest report, Youth Perspectives on Online Safety, 2025 — an annual report now in its sixth consecutive year — 67% of minors surveyed have reported using an AI chatbot or companion. Among the 27% of minors who reported experiencing an online sexual interaction, 15% said they confided in or sought guidance from an AI chatbot or companion in response, more than twice the rate of minors who cited being bullied or made uncomfortable online (7%).

The findings come as kids are navigating an increasingly complex online safety landscape, where "traditional" harms like unwanted sexual messages and requests for nude imagery have converged with emerging harms such as the creation and sharing of deepfake nudes, and sextortion. Thorn's ongoing research underscores that examining online harms young people face online in isolation carries risk, and that safety and prevention efforts must account for the broadening reality of their online experiences, including where they seek help.

"AI is increasingly becoming part of how young people process confusing or harmful online experiences," said Amanda Goharian, Director of Research & Insights at Thorn. "We have to look at that fact as a sign that kids are beginning to feel comfortable turning there for immediate support. And we must ask if these tools are designed to respond in age-appropriate, trauma-informed ways that ultimately help young people turn to trusted adults."

The report, based on a 2025 survey of more than 1,000 minors in the U.S., aged 9-17, highlights critical data on how young people encounter and respond to online harms:

• AI chatbots and companions are now part of how youth navigate risk and seek support. A majority of minors surveyed (67%) reported having used an AI chatbot or companion, and more than 1 in 4 (29%) reported using such tools for guidance or information related to sensitive or personal purposes.
  
  Among minors who had an online sexual interaction, 15% said they sought advice from an AI companion/chatbot after the experience, more than twice the rate of minors who said they sought advice from AI after they were bullied or made uncomfortable online (7%).
   
• Underage access to technology remains a critical and unresolved risk factor. Nearly half of all minors surveyed (47%) reported accessing an app, website, or platform before meeting the minimum age requirement. Minors who said they accessed platforms before meeting minimum age requirements were more likely to report having online sexual interactions than those who had not (41% vs. 13%, respectively).
   
• Deepfake nudes are creating new uncertainty for teens. Among teens surveyed, 4% reported having had a personal experience with deepfake nudes being created of them, and 7% reported having seen a deepfake nude of another kid or teen. In contrast, 13% of teens said they weren't sure whether they had seen a deepfake nude of another child, underscoring the difficulty young people may face in discerning the authenticity of nude content they encounter.
   
• Youth continue to face an evolving spectrum of online sexual harms that overlap. 1 in 3 teens (34%) reported an online sexual interaction as traditionally measured — but when including SG-CSAM, deepfake nudes, and sexual extortion experiences in the analysis, nearly 1 in 2 teens (45%) reported having at least one type of sexual interaction online.
   
• Younger kids are increasingly staying silent after online sexual interactions. This year's report shows a sharp increase among preteens who indicated they did not disclose their online sexual interaction at all — either through an online safety tool or by seeking offline support — now reaching the same non-disclosure rates as teens.
   
• Fear and shame continue to inhibit disclosure. Nearly 1 in 2 minors who did not disclose their online sexual interaction cited feeling embarrassed and worried about being judged. Since 2020, Thorn's research has found a notable increase in minors identifying embarrassment and fear of judgment as a basis for nondisclosure.

The findings suggest that kids' lived online experiences continue to outpace current safety systems that still too often assume harms can be addressed as a single issue, platform, or intervention in isolation. Young people may access age-gated spaces before they are old enough, use platform tools before turning to offline support, stay silent because of fear or shame, or turn to AI for guidance in moments when they are unsure what to do next.

Thorn's Youth Perspectives research has tracked young people's online experiences since 2019, providing a youth-centered view into how digital risks evolve over time. The latest findings point to the need for stronger, more integrated safety approaches across the child protection ecosystem — including platform safeguards, AI safety protocols, reporting tools designed with youth needs in mind, and trusted pathways to human support.

Read the full report: https://info.thorn.org/hubfs/Research/Thorn_2025YouthPerspectives_Report.pdf 

About Thorn
Thorn is an innovative technology nonprofit that transforms how children are protected from sexual abuse and exploitation in the digital age. Thorn builds scalable tools to help platforms detect and prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation, supports investigators in finding victims faster, and shares research and technical guidance to shape policy and improve protections for children worldwide. By working within the broader child protection ecosystem, Thorn is creating a digital safety net to protect every child's right to simply be a kid. To learn more about Thorn's mission to protect children in the digital age, visit thorn.org.

SOURCE Thorn