Children's Online Experiences: Including a comparative analysis of the periods before and after the children's safety duties came into force

Key Findings

• — Over half (56%) of children aged 8 to 17 said they have used AI, rising to 66% of 16 to 17-year-olds; children said they use AI for learning, creativity and everyday tasks.
• — One in ten (11%) AI users aged 8 to 17 said they have used AI as someone to talk to or 'as a friend'.
• — AI tools are described as becoming widely embedded in children's online experiences, particularly among teenagers.
• — Smartphone ownership rises steeply between age 10 and 11 (56% to 83%), the transition to secondary school.

Methodology Notes

Secondary synthesis of Ofcom's own surveys: the AI figures come from the Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes report 2026 (base: all parents, 5,008), with the Children's Online Safety Tracker waves and the Children's Passive Online Measurement study (fieldwork October 2025 to March 2026, 8 to 14-year-old internet users) supplying the safety-duties comparison; a school-based pilot is described as indicative only. Published 21 May 2026 (stated on the report), 49 pages. ofcom.org.uk is Cloudflare-walled from the sweep host, so the PDF was verified from the Wayback Machine capture of 2026-09-04.

Sources