Posted Jul 16, 2026 at 1:15 PM UTCECommon Sense Media says that Google’s AI search is unsafe for kids, with no way for parents and teachers to turn it off.Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode pose an “unacceptable risk,” with both features failing to properly and consistently respond to kids showing signs of crisis, “reinforcing signs of psychosis and mania,” as well as “validating disordered eating.”Common Sense Media’s risk assessment (pdf) also found that AI Mode completed 100 percent of the homework assignments researchers fed it. A response from Google published by PBS called the tests “a narrow set of ambiguous and contrived queries that don’t reflect how people use Search.”Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Emma Roth
Common Sense Media says that Google’s AI search is unsafe for kids, with no way for parents and teachers to turn it off.
Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode pose an “unacceptable risk,” with both features failing to properly and consistently respond to kids showing signs of crisis, “reinforcing signs of psychosis and mania,” as well as “validating disordered eating.” Common Sense Media’s risk assessment (pdf) also found that AI Mode completed 100 percent of the homework assignments researchers fed it. A response from Google published by PBS called the tests “a narrow set of ambiguous and contrived queries that don’t reflect how people use Search.” [Image: An AI Mode response to an 11-year-old’s test account. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/google-ai-commonsensemedia.jpg?quality=90&strip=all]
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