We built AI friends but forgot the safeguards

Recently, a popular AI Companion company made headlines by announcing it would ban users under 18 from open-ended chats with its AI characters, with the full restriction to taking effect on 25 November 2025.

For a company whose artificial ‘friends’ are wildly popular with young people, this represents a major shift in direction.

It’s also perhaps a sign of a wider reckoning about how artificial companionship is reshaping young people’s lives.

As a GP working in mental health for three decades, I’m relieved and welcome the move.

But there’s a bigger question: what exactly have we been building, and who are we handing it to? 

Our new digital ‘friends’ 

In plain terms, an AI companion is a chatbot designed not just to answer questions, but to feel like a friend. 

It’s built to simulate emotional connection – often offering comfort, empathy...