Meta has introduced a new safety feature that will notify parents if their teenagers discuss suicide or self-harm while using the company's AI chatbot, Meta AI. The feature is designed to help families identify potential mental health crises and encourage timely support for young users.

The new alerts are available to parents who have enabled Instagram's parental supervision tools. If Meta AI detects conversations that suggest a teen may be at risk of self-harm or suicide across Meta platforms—including Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and the standalone Meta AI website—a notification will be sent to the parent's device.

Previously, Meta AI would respond to such conversations by directing users to crisis support resources and encouraging them to speak with a trusted adult. The latest update expands those safeguards by keeping parents informed when potentially concerning interactions occur.

Meta said the feature is now rolling out in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. The company also revealed it is developing an additional system that could contact emergency services if AI conversations indicate an immediate risk to a user's life.

The announcement comes as governments and child safety advocates continue to scrutinize the impact of AI chatbots on young people's mental health. Technology experts have welcomed the move as a positive step but caution that AI-based monitoring is not foolproof and may sometimes miss genuine risks or generate false alerts.

Youth advocates have also warned that some teenagers may attempt to bypass parental controls by creating accounts with incorrect birth dates, limiting the effectiveness of safety features.

Meanwhile, calls for stronger regulation of AI and social media companies continue to grow. In Canada, lawmakers have introduced the Safe Social Media Act, which would require AI chatbot providers to implement safeguards when users express suicidal thoughts, self-harm or intentions to harm others. The proposed legislation has not yet become law.

Meta says it will continue refining its safety systems to better protect young users while working with parents, mental health experts and policymakers to improve online safety.