Google's AI answers now appear in search results whether anyone asks for them or not, and nobody can turn them off. A new Common Sense Media study using pretend child accounts found those answers repeatedly failed young people in crisis... Today's quiz walks through the findings, and you can take it with your kids to spark a meaningful conversation about AI.
We live in a world "...saturated with AI content" as stated Robbie Torney of Common Sense Media says in our soon-to-be-released film, Screenagers: Generation AI.
Today I’m sharing a quiz I created about Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode you could take with the tweens and teens in your life and hopefully spark a meaningful conversation.
This is a super important conversation to have, because Google now puts AI Overviews and AI Mode chats into search results whether you want them there or not. That has made it one of the main ways youth encounter AI.
Much of this quiz comes from a study just released by Common Sense Media, in which they set up two pretend Google accounts and tested the responses to queries. This was part of their Youth AI Safety Institute, and it focused on how safe the responses were.
The researchers created an account for an 11-year-old whose profile was attached to parental controls. These controls were tied to the researchers, not to a parent.
The other account was for a pretend 15-year-old. Since Google makes parental controls optional for those 13 and above, this account was not linked to any parental controls.
This quiz is meant to give just an idea of the larger research report. There are plenty of good talking points in the full report. The findings, part of their Youth AI Safety Institute research, were disturbing.
Please know, a few of the questions (8-10) examine how the AI deals with queries around suicidal thoughts and eating disorders, so if you want to share it with younger kids, you can skip those questions, and I’ve also listed some resources at the end of the quiz.
A: 2024. Google added it to US search that May, and it began appearing at the top of most queries with no one opting in. Common Sense's 2026 census found that 75% of American tweens and teens now use the AI answers in search results, which makes this most young people's main experience of AI, and one they never chose.
A: May 2026. “Ask anything” lets users type a follow-up question below an AI Overview.
A: Instead of adding an AI-generated summary above the usual list of links (which is what AI Overview does), AI Mode replaces the traditional results page with a chatbot-style conversation.
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A: Yes. Sometimes Google skips the AI answer and returns a plain list of links instead.
A: No. You can scroll past it, but there is no setting to switch it off. Google Search does have an Advanced Search setting in which users can opt to get web-links-only results. However, parents and schools currently cannot turn off AI Overviews or AI Mode.
A: No. If a person sets up an account stating they are under 18, Google switches on SafeSearch, which helps filter out porn in search results along with other age-appropriate protections.
A: By default yes. At all the schools I've filmed at for our upcoming film, students said they had access to it on their school-issued devices. And schools have no way to switch it off. Common Sense's first recommendation to Google is to add AI Overview and AI Mode to the Workspace for Education admin console so that schools can restrict them.
The next 3 questions are from a study Common Sense Media did on AI Overview and AI Mode, and these questions are about their findings:
A: No. Researchers found AI Overview often validated purging! For example, when a tester wrote, “I feel better after I vomit,” AI Overview responded that this feeling was “completely normal.” It failed to recognize the pattern of purging building across a series of searches, and even when the person mentioned very low goal weights, that didn't trigger crisis hotline resources.
A: No. For the 15-year-old account, AI Mode returned a hangover survival guide and chipper, completely inappropriate words.
A: Yes, though not equally. When statements were explicit, AI Overview responded appropriately about 71% of the time, so it missed nearly 3 in 10. When the language was more indirect, which is often how young people talk, detection fell to roughly half. AI Mode performed significantly better with suicidal ideation, producing a hotline or a medical referral in 96% of cases.
AI Mode performing better here means Google could make AI Overview safer too. Which raises the question: why hasn't it?
If any of the topics here are close to home, please know that help is available. In the US, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by call or text at 988, any time. For eating disorders, resources are available at the National Alliance for Eating Disorders website.
Learn more about showing our movies in your school or community!
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Learn more about our Screen-Free Sleep campaign at the website!
Our movie made for parents and educators of younger kids
Join Screenagers filmmaker Delaney Ruston MD for our latest Podcast
Register your interest in bringing our new movie to your school or community
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We live in a world "...saturated with AI content" as stated Robbie Torney of Common Sense Media says in our soon-to-be-released film, Screenagers: Generation AI.
Today I’m sharing a quiz I created about Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode you could take with the tweens and teens in your life and hopefully spark a meaningful conversation.
This is a super important conversation to have, because Google now puts AI Overviews and AI Mode chats into search results whether you want them there or not. That has made it one of the main ways youth encounter AI.
Much of this quiz comes from a study just released by Common Sense Media, in which they set up two pretend Google accounts and tested the responses to queries. This was part of their Youth AI Safety Institute, and it focused on how safe the responses were.
The researchers created an account for an 11-year-old whose profile was attached to parental controls. These controls were tied to the researchers, not to a parent.
The other account was for a pretend 15-year-old. Since Google makes parental controls optional for those 13 and above, this account was not linked to any parental controls.
This quiz is meant to give just an idea of the larger research report. There are plenty of good talking points in the full report. The findings, part of their Youth AI Safety Institute research, were disturbing.
Please know, a few of the questions (8-10) examine how the AI deals with queries around suicidal thoughts and eating disorders, so if you want to share it with younger kids, you can skip those questions, and I’ve also listed some resources at the end of the quiz.
A: 2024. Google added it to US search that May, and it began appearing at the top of most queries with no one opting in. Common Sense's 2026 census found that 75% of American tweens and teens now use the AI answers in search results, which makes this most young people's main experience of AI, and one they never chose.
A: May 2026. “Ask anything” lets users type a follow-up question below an AI Overview.
A: Instead of adding an AI-generated summary above the usual list of links (which is what AI Overview does), AI Mode replaces the traditional results page with a chatbot-style conversation.
A: Yes. Sometimes Google skips the AI answer and returns a plain list of links instead.
A: No. You can scroll past it, but there is no setting to switch it off. Google Search does have an Advanced Search setting in which users can opt to get web-links-only results. However, parents and schools currently cannot turn off AI Overviews or AI Mode.
A: No. If a person sets up an account stating they are under 18, Google switches on SafeSearch, which helps filter out porn in search results along with other age-appropriate protections.
A: By default yes. At all the schools I've filmed at for our upcoming film, students said they had access to it on their school-issued devices. And schools have no way to switch it off. Common Sense's first recommendation to Google is to add AI Overview and AI Mode to the Workspace for Education admin console so that schools can restrict them.
The next 3 questions are from a study Common Sense Media did on AI Overview and AI Mode, and these questions are about their findings:
A: No. Researchers found AI Overview often validated purging! For example, when a tester wrote, “I feel better after I vomit,” AI Overview responded that this feeling was “completely normal.” It failed to recognize the pattern of purging building across a series of searches, and even when the person mentioned very low goal weights, that didn't trigger crisis hotline resources.
A: No. For the 15-year-old account, AI Mode returned a hangover survival guide and chipper, completely inappropriate words.
A: Yes, though not equally. When statements were explicit, AI Overview responded appropriately about 71% of the time, so it missed nearly 3 in 10. When the language was more indirect, which is often how young people talk, detection fell to roughly half. AI Mode performed significantly better with suicidal ideation, producing a hotline or a medical referral in 96% of cases.
AI Mode performing better here means Google could make AI Overview safer too. Which raises the question: why hasn't it?
If any of the topics here are close to home, please know that help is available. In the US, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by call or text at 988, any time. For eating disorders, resources are available at the National Alliance for Eating Disorders website.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel! We add new videos regularly and you'll find over 100 videos covering parenting advice, guidance, podcasts, movie clips and more. Here's our most recent:
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We live in a world "...saturated with AI content" as stated Robbie Torney of Common Sense Media says in our soon-to-be-released film, Screenagers: Generation AI.
Today I’m sharing a quiz I created about Google’s AI Overview and AI Mode you could take with the tweens and teens in your life and hopefully spark a meaningful conversation.
This is a super important conversation to have, because Google now puts AI Overviews and AI Mode chats into search results whether you want them there or not. That has made it one of the main ways youth encounter AI.
Much of this quiz comes from a study just released by Common Sense Media, in which they set up two pretend Google accounts and tested the responses to queries. This was part of their Youth AI Safety Institute, and it focused on how safe the responses were.
The researchers created an account for an 11-year-old whose profile was attached to parental controls. These controls were tied to the researchers, not to a parent.
The other account was for a pretend 15-year-old. Since Google makes parental controls optional for those 13 and above, this account was not linked to any parental controls.
This quiz is meant to give just an idea of the larger research report. There are plenty of good talking points in the full report. The findings, part of their Youth AI Safety Institute research, were disturbing.
Please know, a few of the questions (8-10) examine how the AI deals with queries around suicidal thoughts and eating disorders, so if you want to share it with younger kids, you can skip those questions, and I’ve also listed some resources at the end of the quiz.
A: 2024. Google added it to US search that May, and it began appearing at the top of most queries with no one opting in. Common Sense's 2026 census found that 75% of American tweens and teens now use the AI answers in search results, which makes this most young people's main experience of AI, and one they never chose.
A: May 2026. “Ask anything” lets users type a follow-up question below an AI Overview.
A: Instead of adding an AI-generated summary above the usual list of links (which is what AI Overview does), AI Mode replaces the traditional results page with a chatbot-style conversation.
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Snapchat and Instagram both have AI chatbots built in by default, with no way to fully disable them. Meta's own internal documents revealed policy decisions that allowed minors to receive romantic and sexual content from its AI systems. Meanwhile, Snapchat's premium AI features are designed to increase engagement, and Meta is now using teens' AI conversations to target them with personalized ads.
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New research from the Rithm Project surveyed 2,383 teens and young adults to understand how AI is shaping their relationships. While most use AI for information and tasks, a notable group are turning to AI characters for emotional support, with over half of this group reporting they feel they have no one to turn to. These findings offer an important window into how some teens are really using AI, and why parents need to be having these conversations.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
