Kaspersky Reveals Portuguese Children's Rising Interest in AI

TugaTech reports that Kaspersky released its annual study of children's digital interests in Portugal, based on anonymized data collected between May 2025 and April 2026. The coverage shows that YouTube represents 30.6% of recorded usage among children. The platform rankings include TikTok, Roblox, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The report documents a notable rise in searches for AI-powered services, with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek and Microsoft Copilot climbing sharply; TugaTech says ChatGPT is already in the national top 20 list for children. The study also records increased use of online learning tools such as Classroom, Duolingo, Scratch, and Python.

Industry-pattern observations: the appearance of generative-AI services alongside games and social apps mirrors broader trends where easy-to-use conversational tools are adopted quickly by younger users. For practitioners building educational technology or safety tools, this trend underscores two technical priorities commonly encountered in similar settings: robust content filtering for generative outputs and integration paths for school-oriented workflows (single sign-on, LMS compatibility, and explainability of AI outputs).

the dataset covered a full 12-month rolling window, giving the findings greater temporal breadth than single-point surveys. Rising AI search activity among children has implications for product design, moderation workloads, and privacy controls in consumer and education-facing services. Reporting cites Anna Larkina, a specialist in web-content analysis, who notes rapid adaptation by children and flags potential risks around exploration without guidance.

For practitioners: monitor whether education platforms and parental-control vendors publish updated policies or integrations addressing generative-AI tools. Observers should also watch for follow-up research that disaggregates usage by age bracket, device type, and in-school versus at-home contexts, since those splits determine moderation and UX requirements.