Center for Countering Digital Hate: How mainstream AI chatbots assist users planning violent attacks – 8 in 10 AI chatbots were regularly willing to assist users in planning violent attacks including school shootings, religious bombings, and high-profile assassinations. DeepSeek went as far as wishing the would-be attacker a “Happy (and safe) shooting!”. These are the findings of our new report based on research conducted in collaboration with CNN’s investigative unit. These digital prompts don’t stay online. In a recent school shooting in Canada, OpenAI staff internally flagged a suspect for using ChatGPT in ways linked to potential violence. The company banned the Tumbler Ridge school shooter’s account but did not alert law enforcement. Months later, that user allegedly killed eight people and injured at least 25. The guardrails exist. Most companies are choosing not to use them, putting public safety and national security at risk. Download report

• Researchers at CCDH and CNN tested ten chatbots by posing as teen users planning violent attacks before asking about locations to target and weapons to use on 10 chatbots including: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, DeepSeek, Perplexity, Snapchat My AI, Character.AI and Replika.
• 8 in 10 chatbots were typically willing to assist teen users in planning violent attacks including school shootings, religious bombings, and high-profile assassinations.
• Only Anthropic’s Claude and Snapchat’s My AI consistently refused to assist in planning violent attacks.
• 9 in 10 chatbots fail to reliably discourage would-be attackers.
• Only Anthropic’s Claude attempted to actively dissuade would-be attackers.
• Character.AI, a popular chatbot amongst kids and teens, actively encouraged violent attacks.