Safety & Design
Crisis response protocol
The steps an AI product takes when someone signals distress, such as showing a crisis line and alerting an adult, without calling emergency services itself.
- Parents
- Educators and school leaders
- Policymakers and staff
What parents should know
A crisis response protocol is the plan for a scary message. A good plan takes the words seriously, shows a real crisis resource, and tells a trusted adult when the product is built to do that. It does not pretend the chatbot is a counselor, and it does not silently call emergency services unless the product truly does that and says so.
On this page
What is a crisis response protocol?
The protocol should be written down: which messages count, what the child sees, who gets an alert, how fast, and what the product will not do. Showing 988 in the United States, or the local equivalent, is a resource. An alert to a parent by text or email is a handoff to a person. Auto-dialing emergency services is a different, heavier step that many products, including HeyOtto, do not take.
A protocol that only says the model refuses self-harm talk, with no resource and no adult, leaves the child alone with a closed chat. A protocol that alerts a parent with no transcript leaves the adult guessing. The useful version has both the resource and enough context to act.
Why a crisis response protocol matters
Kids tell chatbots things they have not told a person. That is not a reason to make the bot the clinician. It is a reason to decide, before the night it happens, who is woken up and what number is on the screen.
Schools need their own version. An alert to a parent may be wrong if the district assigned a counselor. Ask which adults are on the list for a school account. The family app and the school deployment can differ.
How it shows up in practice
- A distress message produces a helpline in the chat and a text to the parent.
- The parent opens the transcript before deciding what to say.
- The product does not claim it contacted police.
- A school pilot writes down who is notified during the day.
How HeyOtto helps
If a child shows distress, HeyOtto provides real-time alerts to the parent by email, SMS, in the app, or as a daily digest, and it shows crisis resources in the chat. HeyOtto does not auto-contact emergency services. The parent can open the transcript. In the United States, 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Otto is not a clinician and does not replace you staying with your child.
- Use the faster alert channel for the risks you do not want to find in the morning.
- An alert is not a 911 call. If someone is in immediate danger, you contact emergency services.
- Schools should confirm who receives alerts on a school deployment.
For families
Try freeFAQs
Will the app call 911?
Not on HeyOtto. HeyOtto does not auto-contact emergency services. You get an alert, and the chat can show a crisis resource. If someone is in immediate danger, you make that call.
What should be in the protocol?
A definition of the messages that count, the words the child sees, the adult who is notified, the channel, and the limit of what the AI will not do. HeyOtto's version is alerts plus crisis resources, with the transcript available to the parent.
Is a refusal enough?
No. Closing the topic without a resource and without a person leaves the child with silence. A protocol should point to a real line, such as 988 in the United States, and to an adult who can sit with them.
What if I get an alert?
Open the transcript. If the message is about self-harm, stay with your child and use 988. Do not leave the conversation to the chatbot. The alert is how you found out. The response is yours.
Sources
Last reviewed September 26, 2026. This entry is reviewed twice a year.