On October 7, 2026, OpenAI announced that College Planner, a new tool for ChatGPT for Teens — the mode designed for teenagers — will soon be added. In its official blog, the company writes that the tool combines the practical steps of applying to college — application requirements, deadlines, tasks, and financial-aid steps — into a single plan based on the list of schools a student selects. On the same day, the company introduced new study tools for creating flashcards and interactive quizzes, and released its first usage data for ChatGPT for Teens. The announcement comes amid growing demand for educational tools among teens.
College Planner: Applications, Deadlines, and Financial Aid in One Plan
College Planner aims to reduce the need to track each school's requirements separately when a student applies to several colleges at once. The tool gathers application requirements, submission deadlines, tasks to complete, and financial-aid steps for the schools on a student's list into one plan. Within the plan, users can ask ChatGPT questions — for example, what a particular requirement means or where to start. This helps students understand each step of the application process.
Financial aid gets its own focus in the tool. College Planner helps students understand aid requirements, track each school's aid deadlines, and explore scholarships and fee waivers. As a result, both the paperwork and the financial side of applying are combined in one working plan, and students no longer need to build a separate plan for each school.
"College Planner gathers application requirements, deadlines, tasks and financial-aid steps for the schools on a student's list into one plan, with help understanding aid requirements, tracking aid deadlines, and exploring scholarships and fee waivers." — OpenAI
Flashcards, Quizzes, and PDF Scanning
The new study tools work from uploaded notes or a chosen topic. Flashcard sets are automatically created from the user's uploaded notes or selected topic; the sets are saved in the Library section and can be practiced with scheduled review. This lets students turn their own materials into a ready practice set and review it regularly.
Interactive quizzes are also built from notes — written materials become question-and-answer exercises that support active learning. Another new feature is continuous capture: multiple pages of notes are photographed in sequence and merged into a single PDF document. The feature is currently available on iOS, with an Android version in development.
One-Week Numbers: 1.2 Million Users
Alongside the announcement, OpenAI released its first usage data for ChatGPT for Teens. In one week, nearly 1.2 million teens used Learning Visualizations to understand math and science, and more than 180,000 launched Study Mode for step-by-step learning support. These figures show strong demand for educational tools among teens, and the new features are being released precisely in response to that need.
According to the company, teens spend an average of less than 15 minutes per day in ChatGPT, and fewer than 2 percent of users stay in the service for more than three hours in a row. These numbers show that teens mostly use the service in short, focused sessions.
The U.S. First, Then Expansion
The initial experience targets students in grades 10–12 living in the United States who plan to enroll in a four-year college. OpenAI plans to expand College Planner to two-year colleges, technical colleges, and trade schools later — so the tool will not be limited to four-year colleges. The tool is also expected to reach students in other countries, with expansion happening gradually. According to The Verge, the tool is not aimed at deciding which college to apply to, but at organizing the application process.
Partnerships with Education Organizations
As part of the announcement, OpenAI also revealed two partnership initiatives. The company is supporting College Advising Corps' expansion into new states and helping create an AI fellowship program for counselors — through which college counselors will build their skills in working with AI tools.
OpenAI will also support the Student Advisory Council program of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital for three years. The program collects teens' feedback on safety settings and parental-control tools — the company aims to ensure teens directly shape their own experience.
