China's New AI Toys Are Headed For American Shelves

The concept of toys that talk back may sound more reminiscent of a horror movie than of playtime as a child for some generations. But playtime is about to change. With AI already changing the ways we think, date, and work, the technological revolution is set to change another aspect of everyday life, the way children play.

Enter: AI-powered toys. Newsweek spoke to experts about the pros and cons of big AI in the littlest of hands.

The AI Toy Boom

Smart AI toys are currently valued at $34.87 billion, according to the research firm Market Research Future, which projects that the market valuation will reach $270 billion by 2035. China accounts for some 40 percent of that growth, as per a report from the Global Times.

And there are already thousands of AI toys and AI toy brands on the market. An October report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Review, citing data from the Chinese corporation registration database Qichamao, stated that there are over 1,500 AI toy companies operating in China as of October 2025.

So, what do these toys do?

One example is FoloToy, A Chinese startup that allows parents to customize a bear, bunny, or cactus toy, and train it to speak with their own voice and speech pattern. Another is BubblePal, a Ping-Pong-sized ball that clips onto a child's favourite toy and makes it "talk." As per the MIT report, that toy is priced at $149, with 200,000 units having been sold since its launch in the summer of 2024. It runs on DeepSeek's large language models.

BubblePal is already available in the U.S., having launched in December of 2024, and FoloToy is sold in over 10 countries, including the United States.

Newsweek has contacted Bubble Pal via social media message and FoloToy via an online contact form for comment.

But it's not just China manufacturing the toys.

In June, Mattel and OpenAI announced a collaboration, which will see Mattel "bring the magic of AI to age-appropriate play experiences," as per a press release issued at the time. Josh Silverman, chief franchise officer at Mattel, said in that press release, "Each of our products and experiences is designed to inspire fans, entertain audiences, and enrich lives through play. AI has the power to expand on that mission and broaden the reach of our brands in new and exciting ways."

Exactly how these toys will look and when they will land on shelves, though, is unclear.

Newsweek has contacted Mattel for comment via email.

The Risks and Rewards

The entry of AI toys onto the market comes at a time when Americans have conflicting views on AI. A September poll from the Pew Research Center found that half of Americans are more concerned than excited, a figure that has risen from 37 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, 10 percent say that they are more excited than concerned.

And there are widespread concerns about AI's impact on people: the study from Pew found that 53 percent of people said that AI worsens people's ability to think creatively, and 50 percent said that it will worsen people's ability to form meaningful relationships with others.

Newsweek spoke to Lars Perner, an associate professor of clinical marketing at the University of Southern California, about the toys and their potential implications.

"This is an intriguing product category. Depending on what types of mass media and social media coverage, there could be a great deal of interest among consumers," Perner said.

He added that, "Many parents will probably think of this as an educational toy, and they may be especially pleased that it involves AI. This would especially be the case for more "competitive" parents who would like for their children to get an "edge" on others. The one article mentioned the adaptability of the toy-both to the country culture and individual circumstances."

But Perner highlighted that some consumers may be trepidatious.

"AI could be scary to some people, and especially when it originates in China," Perner said. Noting that parallels to the controversy over TikTok could arise, Pener said that "Although parents and teenagers do not seem to be worried about being ‘programmed’ by this type of technology themselves, there may be greater concern for children.

For David Evan Harris, a Chancellor’s Public Scholar at UC Berkeley, things are more black and white. "Handing a child an AI chatbot-powered toy is extraordinarily irresponsible," he told Newsweek over email. Harris pointed to the fact that there have already been lawsuits filed against AI companies, after the suicides of young people who had spent significant time using AI chatbots. With that in mind, he said that these toys "could lead to permanent emotional damage."

Will There Be Cognitive Consequences for Children?

There are already significant concerns about children and their relationships to technology. Teachers have been sounding the alarm online about Generation Alpha struggling with an overdependence on technology, as well as short attention spans and a lack of interest in learning.

In September, it was announced that reading and math scores of 12th graders have plunged to their lowest level in over 20 years, and a report released in January from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that the reading and math skills of fourth- and eighth-grade students have declined in multiple states to below the national average.

And there are a whole host of concerns about AI's impact on critical thinking. A study published in Societies in January of 2025 found that the growing reliance on these technologies could be undermining critical thinking skills, while a study run by researchers at MIT found that people who use large language models like ChatGPT to write essays have lower brain activity than those who don't.

So, how could the entry of AI toys into the world impact children?

Katya Rubia, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at King’s College London, told Newsweek that these AI toys could have advantages and disadvantages.

These toys "can provide children with emotional support and can be highly educational and improve learning. Also, they are motivating learning."

But, Rubia noted, there are downsides. "As with social media and other online platforms, spending too much time on-screen will take valuable time away from real social and emotional interaction with real peers, parents, etc, which will be detrimental to real-life social interaction and interpersonal skill development.

"It is likely to decrease the bond with real people like parents and peers. Importantly, it will diminish real playtime, that is important for creativity, social interaction, and language skill development. It will also take time away from physical outdoor activities in nature and exercise, which we know is fundamental for mental health," Rubia said.

For Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University, from a child psychology perspective, these toys are "simply horrifying."

"Human to human interaction is what drives social development, relationships, and all learning," Hirsh-Pasek said. She continued, highlighting the importance of guardrails in these kinds of technology.

"The toys might look like they are fun and engaging. But look further and ye shall see that trouble lurks in the background," she said. Hirsh Pasek noted that children who engage with AI companions who are "always kind, always compliant, and always interested in them" may struggle in the real world when they encounter children who have their own personalities and agendas. She questioned whether children trained on AI will be able to adjust.

Her conclusion on the technology was clear. "To date, the risks outweigh the benefits," she said.

Jennifer Zosh, a professor of human development and family studies at The Pennsylvania State University's Brandywine campus, drew a comparison between these AI toys and when education apps hit the marketplace, an example that illustrates the ongoing impact that technology has had on education.

"Parents were confronted with decisions they weren't sure how to make," Zosh told Newsweek. "We face the same challenge here, where products are hitting the market without any oversight or evidence-based scientific study investigating their impact."

"Children learn best when they are actively engaged (minds-on) in meaningful, iterative, socially interactive, and joyful experiences," Zosh said.

She noted that using technology to help inspire these learning interactions could be a potential positive, but emphasised that "No toy is better than high-quality human interaction."

Zosh posed the question, "Even if we could create toys that mimic those interactions, why would we want to, and if we do, what have we lost in the process?"

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This story was originally published November 16, 2025 at 2:00 AM.