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Security guide6 min read

How to block ChatGPT on your home network

ChatGPT is the most widely accessed AI chatbot in the UK, and it has no age verification. Children can use it to write essays, generate explicit creative content, or get answers that bypass school content policies. This guide shows how to block ChatGPT and other AI chatbots at the network level using DNS filtering — no software to install on individual devices.

By James Mackie, Canopy Families founder · How we research and review guides

Before you start
  • Blocking AI chatbots at home only affects your home network — children can still access them via mobile data or at school.
  • New AI chatbot services launch regularly. DNS blocking specific domains requires updating your blocklist as new services emerge. The "AI Chatbots" category in NextDNS is updated automatically.
  • Some legitimate educational uses of AI may also be blocked. Consider using NextDNS's per-device rules to allow AI tools on your own devices while blocking them on children's devices.

Method 1 — Use Canopy-managed AI chatbot blocking (recommended)

  1. Start a Canopy Families full-access subscription or 14-day trial; the managed NextDNS profile is included.
  2. Open Home Safety → Content Blocking and enable the AI chatbot category for the family profile.
  3. Open Router Setup or Device Setup and follow the instructions for the exact router or device.
  4. Run Test connection in Home Safety so Canopy can confirm that DNS traffic is reaching the assigned profile.
  5. Test by trying to visit chatgpt.com from a device on your network.
Canopy manages the family’s NextDNS profile and exposes the supported category controls in the parent dashboard.

Method 2 — Add specific domains in Canopy

  1. In Canopy Home Safety, open the family denylist controls.
  2. Add the following domains:
  3. chat.openai.com
  4. openai.com
  5. claude.ai
  6. api.anthropic.com
  7. gemini.google.com
  8. bard.google.com
  9. perplexity.ai
  10. character.ai
  11. poe.com
Manual domain blocking is best used alongside the managed AI chatbot category, not instead of it — new subdomains or mirror sites will not be caught by domain-specific rules alone.

Allow AI tools on parents' devices only

  1. Use Canopy Home Safety to review DNS activity and confirm which network is protected.
  2. If your router supports per-device DNS policies, follow its current model-specific instructions and use the Canopy-assigned settings.
  3. For phones and tablets that leave home, use Canopy Device Setup as well as router-level filtering.

What this does not block

For robust AI chatbot restriction, DNS blocking at home should be combined with mobile carrier parental controls, school device policies, and regular conversations with your children about responsible AI use.
  1. AI features embedded in search engines (Google's AI Overview, Bing Copilot sidebar).
  2. AI writing assistants built into apps like Notion, Microsoft 365, or Google Docs.
  3. Mobile apps that wrap AI chatbot functionality (these use HTTPS, not DNS).
  4. Access via mobile data (4G/5G bypasses your home router entirely).

Router menus vary by model and firmware. These instructions were checked against the manufacturers' current support material; use the route shown for your exact model.

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