Skip to main content
HeyOtto Logo
Try free

Risks

AI exploitation

AI exploitation is the use of artificial intelligence to sexually exploit, manipulate or harm children, including creating fake explicit images, using fake profiles to contact kids, and blackmailing them.

As of October 6, 2026: Figures below reflect NCMEC's published CyberTipline data through 2025. The federal TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed May 19, 2025, makes publishing nonconsensual intimate images, including AI-generated ones, a federal crime.

  • Parents
  • Educators and school leaders
  • Policymakers and staff

What parents should know

AI tools can be misused to make fake explicit images of real kids, sometimes from ordinary photos, and to bully or blackmail them. If this ever happens, it is never your child's fault. Make sure your child knows they can come to you without getting in trouble, and that help is available.

On this page

What is AI exploitation?

AI exploitation covers the ways generative AI is misused to harm children. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) identifies several main risks. AI can be used to create child sexual abuse material and fake nude images, including through so-called "nudify" apps. Offenders can use AI to build fake social media accounts to contact children. AI-generated explicit images can be used in sextortion, where someone threatens to share an image unless a child sends more content or money. And classmates sometimes use AI to create and spread harmful fake images of peers.

NCMEC's position is clear: AI-generated child sexual abuse material is child sexual abuse material. Even when an image is fake, the harm to the child is real.

Why AI exploitation matters

This risk is growing fast. According to NCMEC, CyberTipline reports involving generative AI rose from 4,700 in 2023 to 67,000 in 2024 and more than 400,000 in 2025. NCMEC also identified more than 275 direct victims of AI-generated abuse material in 2024 and 2025, and in many cases the offender was someone in the child's life.

For kids, the effects can include harassment, bullying, and serious emotional harm. For schools, AI-made images of students can spread quickly and require a fast, careful response. Teens who create fake explicit images of classmates can also face serious legal consequences.

The most protective steps are open conversations, clear rules about images, and kids who know exactly where to turn for help.

How it shows up in practice

  • A student uses an app to create a fake nude image of a classmate from a school photo and shares it in a group chat.
  • Someone using a fake teen profile messages a child and pressures them for photos.
  • A teen is threatened with a fake explicit image of themselves unless they send money.

How HeyOtto helps

HeyOtto is built for kids and teens, with safety monitoring and parent visibility at its core. Parents can see how their child uses AI and get alerts when a conversation raises concerns, so problems surface early. If a child tries to use AI to make fake explicit images of real kids the parents or account admin is notified.

HeyOtto stands against this and anyone that tries to generate inappropriate content will have a lifetime ban.

For families

Try HeyOtto for your family

FAQs

Is an AI-generated explicit image of a child illegal?

NCMEC treats AI-generated child sexual abuse material as abuse material, and the TAKE IT DOWN Act makes publishing nonconsensual intimate images, including AI-generated ones, a federal crime. State laws may add further penalties.

What should we do if someone threatens to share a fake image of my child?

Stop responding, don't pay or send anything, and report it right away to NCMEC's CyberTipline at CyberTipline.org or 1-800-843-5678, and to local law enforcement. Don't save, screenshot or forward sexual images.

How can we get an explicit image taken down?

NCMEC's free Take It Down service helps people anonymously request removal of explicit images, real or AI-generated, from participating platforms. Report it to the platform where it was posted, too.

How do I talk to my child about this without scaring them?

Keep it calm and simple: some people misuse AI to make fake pictures, it's never the victim's fault, and they can always tell you. NCMEC's NetSmartz program has age-appropriate materials.

Sources

Last reviewed October 6, 2026. This entry is reviewed twice a year.