The AWARE Act directs the FTC to create educational guides for families on the safe and responsible use of AI chatbots by minors.
Erin Houchin
Representative
IN-9
The AI Warnings And Resources for Education (AWARE) Act directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to develop and release educational materials for families about the safe and responsible use of AI chatbots by minors. These resources must clearly explain safety risks, data privacy concerns, and offer best practices for parental supervision. The FTC is required to model these new guides after their existing "Youville" educational program.
FTC Mandated to Create AI Chatbot Safety Guides for Parents and Kids Within 6 Months
The “AI Warnings And Resources for Education Act,” or the AWARE Act, is all about getting ahead of the curve on new technology—specifically, the AI chatbots that kids and teens are using every day. This section (SEC. 2) puts the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on the clock, giving them 180 days to create and release educational guides for parents, teachers, and minors themselves on how to use these tools safely and responsibly.
What the FTC Has to Deliver
Think of this as the government stepping up to offer a much-needed user manual for the AI era. The FTC’s materials have to cover three core areas: first, how to spot the difference between safe and potentially unsafe ways to use an AI chatbot; second, a clear explanation of how these chatbots handle privacy and collect user data; and third, the best practices for parents who want to supervise their kids’ use of these tools. For example, if your 15-year-old is using a chatbot to write a history paper, the guides should explain the data trail that leaves and what safeguards you should be looking for.
Making It Accessible for Everyone
The law is smart about how it wants this information delivered. It specifically instructs the FTC to model the new resources after their existing “Youville” program. That means these guides shouldn't be dense, bureaucratic documents; they should be engaging and easy to understand—the kind of stuff that busy parents can actually absorb while waiting in the school pickup line. The goal is to make sure that the technical details of AI (defined here as systems that converse naturally and create content) are translated into plain English for everyone under 18 and their guardians.
The Real-World Impact
For most people, this is a clear win. If you’re a parent trying to keep up with the tech your kids are using, this bill mandates that a federal agency provides you with free, reliable, and accessible information on data privacy and safety. If you’re a teacher, you get concrete resources to help students navigate the ethical line between using AI for help and using it to cheat. The beauty of this section is its clarity: it defines exactly what an “AI Chatbot” is (a consumer-facing, conversational AI tool) and gives the FTC a hard deadline, ensuring that this educational material actually gets developed and distributed before the technology evolves even further beyond our understanding.