3Eyes / Blog
2026-08-26 · Sienna Richardson

How to Block AI Chatbots on a Computer

Blocking AI chatbots is harder than blocking Roblox or YouTube for one reason: there is no fixed list. Roblox has been roblox.com for two decades. AI companion apps launch weekly, most of them from names nobody has heard of, and a blocklist is out of date the day you write it.

That shapes what follows. The domain list below covers the sites that matter as of August 2026 and will handle the majority of cases. The last section covers what to do about the ones that do not exist yet, which for this particular category is the more important half.

First, decide what you are actually blocking

Most parents do not want to block all AI, and the setup is different depending on which of these you mean.

Everything. Simplest to implement, appropriate for younger children, and increasingly impractical for teenagers - AI tools are turning up inside school platforms, search results and word processors.

Companion and roleplay apps only, keeping general assistants. This is what most parents actually want: ChatGPT allowed for homework, Character.AI and the companion apps blocked. It is also the harder configuration, because it means maintaining a distinction rather than a wall.

Everything during homework hours. A time-based rather than a category-based decision, which needs a tool that combines a site list with a schedule.

Be clear on which one before you start, because it determines whether the domain list below is your allowlist or your blocklist.

The domains worth blocking

Accurate as of August 2026. Treat this as a starting point, not a finished list.

General assistants

  • chatgpt.com, chat.openai.com, openai.com
  • gemini.google.com
  • claude.ai
  • copilot.microsoft.com
  • perplexity.ai
  • grok.com, x.ai
  • deepseek.com
  • meta.ai

Companion and roleplay apps - the category where the real risk sits

  • character.ai, beta.character.ai
  • replika.com, replika.ai
  • chai-research.com, chai.ml
  • janitorai.com
  • crushon.ai
  • spicychat.ai
  • talkie-ai.com
  • polybuzz.ai
  • linky.ai

Aggregators and proxies - sites that front several models at once, and a common way around a block on the individual services

  • poe.com
  • you.com
  • flowgpt.com
  • openrouter.ai

Blocking a bare domain like character.ai should also cover its subdomains on most filtering tools, but check that yours behaves that way - some require the www form explicitly, which is a common reason a block appears not to work.

Method 1: The hosts file (Windows and Mac)

Free, no software, and it covers every browser on the machine because it operates below the browser entirely.

Edit C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows as an administrator, or /etc/hosts on a Mac with sudo nano /etc/hosts, and add a line per domain:

0.0.0.0 character.ai
0.0.0.0 www.character.ai
0.0.0.0 janitorai.com
0.0.0.0 www.janitorai.com

Where it fails: it does nothing about a VPN, a phone, or a site not on the list, and a child with administrator rights can edit the file back. Making your child's account a standard user rather than an administrator is what turns this from a speed bump into a control. The full hosts file walkthrough covers the syntax and the pitfalls in detail.

Method 2: DNS filtering

Point your router or the individual computer at a filtering DNS service and block the AI category if it has one. Coverage across every device on the network for one change.

Several DNS filters now carry an AI chatbot category, which is a genuine advantage here - it means someone else maintains the list, and new companion apps get categorised without you doing anything.

Where it fails: the moment the device leaves your network. A phone hotspot defeats it instantly, and so does a friend's WiFi. On a laptop that travels, this covers a minority of actual use. It is also defeated by a VPN, and by encrypted DNS in browsers that enable it by default.

Method 3: Browser extensions

Fast to install and easy to configure, and structurally the weakest option on this list.

An extension sees traffic in the browser it is installed in. A child who opens a different browser has bypassed it entirely, and installing a second browser takes about forty seconds. Extensions are also removable from the extensions page unless you have restricted that.

Reasonable as a nudge for a cooperative younger child. Not a control.

Method 4: Allowlisting

Rather than listing what is blocked, list what is allowed. Everything else fails closed.

This is the only approach on the page that handles the actual problem - the app that does not exist yet. A companion app launching next Tuesday is blocked under an allowlist for the same reason any unknown site is, with no update required from you.

Where it fails: it requires a decision the first time your child needs a new site for school. In practice that is a few seconds per request, but it is a real difference in how the thing feels day to day.

Which method to use

Method Every browser Off your network Handles new AI apps Survives a determined teen Cost
Hosts file Yes Yes No Only as a standard user Free
DNS filtering Yes No Partly, if categorised No Free to low
Browser extension No Yes No No Free
Allowlisting Yes Yes Yes Yes Paid

The "handles new AI apps" column is the one that matters more in this category than in any other, because the churn is so high. For Roblox or YouTube a blocklist stays accurate for years. For AI chatbots it decays in weeks.

Allowing ChatGPT while blocking the rest

The configuration most parents want, done two ways.

With a blocklist: allow everything, then block every companion domain in the list above. This works today and needs revisiting whenever a new app becomes popular at your child's school - which you will usually find out about after the fact.

With an allowlist: block everything, then approve chatgpt.com and the specific school sites your child needs. New companion apps are handled before they exist. This is the configuration that does not require you to keep up.

Either way, pair it with an explicit rule about what AI is for. "Ask it to explain, don't ask it to write" is enforceable by a conversation in a way that no filter can be, and it addresses the thing that actually goes wrong with homework.

Where 3Eyes Fits

Everything above ends at the same wall: a blocklist has to have heard of a site before it can stop it, and this is the fastest-moving category on the internet.

3Eyes is an allowlist. Nothing opens unless you have approved it, so you approve ChatGPT for homework and every companion app that launches next month is already blocked without you knowing its name. It runs on the computer rather than the router, so it holds on a hotspot and at a friend's house, in any browser, and uninstalling it requires your password. When your child needs a site for school, they ask from the blocked page and you approve or decline from your phone in a couple of seconds.

There is also a version of this problem that blocking does not solve. A child using ChatGPT to avoid learning needs something that teaches, not just something that stops. 3Eyes carries educational games, learning activities and a built-in tutor that works through a topic with your child rather than handing over an answer. Setup is about two minutes. See how it works.

Frequently asked questions

Can I block AI chatbots without blocking ChatGPT? Yes - block the companion and roleplay domains listed above and leave the general assistants reachable. The practical difficulty is not the initial setup but keeping up as new apps appear, which is why an allowlist suits this category better.

Will blocking the website block the app? No. Phone and desktop apps are separate from the website and need blocking separately, through the app store controls or the device's own restrictions. A site block with the app still installed accomplishes nothing.

Do AI chatbots work through a VPN? Yes, and a VPN defeats DNS and router filtering entirely because the destination is encrypted. Software that reads the request on the device before it is encrypted is unaffected. Preventing the VPN from being installed at all - by making the child a standard user - is the cleaner fix. More on VPNs and parental controls.

My child uses AI for schoolwork. Should I block it? For most teenagers, no. Blocking mostly relocates the usage to a phone or a friend's laptop, and AI tools are becoming part of how school works. A specific rule about what it may be used for gets further than a block.

How do I find out which AI apps my child uses? Browser history is the fast check, though it is easily cleared. App lists on the phone and the computer are more reliable. The most reliable is asking, which works more often than parents expect, because for most children these are just apps rather than secrets.