Findmykids data on US children aged 9–17 shows AI app ownership up from 42% to 56% in a year, daily chatbot users up 71%, and companion users spending five times longer than chatbot users.
NEW YORK, NY, October 06, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- New anonymized data from Findmykids, a family safety app, shows 56.3% of US children aged 9 to 17 had at least one AI app on their phone in September 2026, up from 41.6% a year earlier. AI apps per child grew 54% on average.
Kids aren't just using what comes preinstalled: ChatGPT, usually self-installed, rose from 19% to 28% of phones. The youngest are catching up fastest. Among 9-10 year-olds, ownership jumped from 37% to 53%, close to teens at 58%, though ChatGPT isn't meant for under-13s.
Habits split in two. Chatbots work like a search box: daily users grew 71%, while time spent stayed flat. AI companions, characters with a name, personality and memory, are on only 8.7% of phones, but use peaks at 103 minutes a day on weekends.
"The average chatbot user spends 18 minutes a day in it. The average AI companion user spends 93. That gap, not the install count, is what parents should watch," said the Findmykids Analytics Team.
One app's restrictions don't close the category. After Character.AI ended open-ended chats for minors, its daily users more than halved, while Talkie grew from 3.3% to 4.9% of phones.
Nearly half of teens using AI chatbots report at least one harmful experience, per a national Cyberbullying Research Center survey. "Chatbots have moved past novelty status for many young people," writes the center's co-director Sameer Hinduja.
Findmykids shows parents which apps, including new AI apps, a child has installed and the child's daily screen time. Full study on the Findmykids blog.
Data reflects Findmykids users only, not all US children.
Letem LTD is the developer of Findmykids, a globally recognized family safety and parental control application. Designed to provide parents with peace of mind, Findmykids offers real-time location tracking, app usage monitoring, and SOS features, empowering families to raise kids safely in a digital world. Learn more at https://findmykids.org
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