A creator of the much-talked-about chatbot ChatGPT says it is enhancing safety measures for the interactive AI-powered product to protect user privacy and children.

ChatGPT is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide as it can generate natural, human-like texts. But concerns are also rising about privacy protections for its users.

Italian authorities have temporarily banned use of the chatbot, and other European countries could follow suit.

OpenAI, the US company behind ChatGPT, announced updated safety measures on its official blog.

The firm said that some training data includes personal information but that it is working to remove such information about private individuals.

OpenAI also said that it prevents the technology from being programmed to generate hateful or violent content.

The firm said that compared to the previous version its latest model, the GPT-4, is 82 percent less likely to respond to requests for prohibited content.

OpenAI added that to protect children, it requires users of the product to be 18 or older, or 13 and older with parental approval. The firm said it is looking into options for age verification.