AI for the next generation.
Our mission: make AI safer for kids and teens.
HeyOtto is an AI platform built from the ground up for kids and teens ages 8–18. It's designed around how young people learn, create, and grow, with parents in the loop from day one.
Kids are going to grow up with AI. They deserve AI built for them.
AI Childhood
Kids are using AI to get help with homework, write stories, learn to code, make games, and ask the questions they're too shy to ask out loud.
The question isn't whether kids will use AI. It's what kind of AI they'll grow up with.
Most of today's AI was built for adults, then patched for younger users with a filter here and a setting there. Kids deserve better than an afterthought.
How we build differently
Safety is infrastructure, not a setting.
Age-appropriate responses, real-time safety monitoring, content filtering, and parent alerts are built into how HeyOtto works. You don't have to find them in a menu or switch them on.
Parents get a seat at the table.
Parents can customize what their child can access, align the experience with their family's values, and get notified when something needs their attention. We're not trying to replace parents. We're giving them the visibility that most tech took away.
AI should teach, not just answer.
HeyOtto guides kids through problems with questions and hints instead of handing over answers. The goal is a child who understands more, thinks more, and creates more.
Kids create, not just consume.
Kids use HeyOtto to write stories, build games, code, make images and videos, and turn ideas into things they can actually share.
Privacy and security by design.
We collect only what we need. We never sell or monetize children's data. HeyOtto is built to meet COPPA, FERPA, and SOC 2 standards from the ground up, with compliance designed in rather than bolted on.
Holding ourselves to a higher standard
Anyone can say their product is safe, so we publish our results.
Self-reported benchmark
95%
95% on the KORA child-safety benchmark.
This score is self-reported using KORA's public methodology.
See our Trust CenterWorking with policymakers.
We work with lawmakers on legislation to protect kids online and with AI.
Meet our founder
Natalie Gibson
Founder & CEO
HeyOtto was founded by Natalie Gibson, Founder & CEO.
Natalie has spent her career building products where privacy and trust come first, across GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, and other highly regulated environments. She's also a mom of three, raising kids in a world where AI is everywhere.
She built what she wanted for her own family: a place where kids get the benefits of AI and parents don't have to give up safety, privacy, or visibility to get them.
Security leadership
Our security team
Protecting kids takes more than good intentions. It takes people who have defended systems where failure isn't an option.
HeyOtto's security team is made up of veterans who have protected financial institutions, where sensitive data, constant threats, and strict regulation are the everyday reality. Together they bring more than 15 years of experience in cybersecurity, network infrastructure, and secure system design.
They built HeyOtto on a simple principle: Content moderation alone isn't safety. That means secure infrastructure, encryption, continuous system hardening, careful data minimization, and systems that are defensible and auditable.
- Secure infrastructure
- Encryption and data protection practices
- Continuous system hardening
- Careful data minimization
- Transparent policies
“Children's AI should never be built casually. It requires product discipline. Security-first engineering. Clear ethical standards. Long-term responsibility.”
This philosophy shapes every decision we make.
From infrastructure to user experience — we collect only what is necessary, build systems that are defensible and auditable, design for parental transparency, and align with evolving child privacy and global protection standards.
What we believe
Kids don't need less technology. They need technology designed for them.
Parents shouldn't have to choose between innovation and oversight.
Safety should be infrastructure, not a marketing claim.
AI should spark curiosity, not replace it.
Kids should learn to use AI responsibly, because they'll use it for the rest of their lives.
For families, schools, and the places kids go
HeyOtto started as a tool for families. Now we're bringing safe, age-appropriate AI to the places kids spend their time. Schools can personalize HeyOtto to their mission and values. Organizations like libraries and restaurants can offer kids a safe AI experience wherever they are.
We're building an ecosystem for the first generation to grow up with AI, one where they can learn, create, and build the skills they'll need for the world ahead.
Get started
The future is coming. We're building it with kids in mind.
For the questions they'll ask. The things they'll create. The world they'll grow up in.