AI-Enabled Stuffed Toys Marketed as Screen-Free Alternatives

Stuffed toys equipped with large-language-model chatbots are being sold to parents who want children to interact with devices that do not display video screens. Bondu, a dinosaur-shaped product, speaks 27 languages, plays games, assists with homework, and offers a bedtime mode that includes breathing exercises and stories.

The toy costs $300 and is available in four colors. Its marketing materials highlight parental controls through a companion app that lets adults review conversations and note that the device adapts to a child's age, interests, and mood.

Other plush items include a teddy bear that generates bedtime stories, a blue figure described as using interactive AI features, an alien toy intended to comfort children during nightmares, and a plush rocket whose chatbot uses a voice provided by musician Grimes.

Audio-only devices such as the Yoto Player and Toniebox play music and short stories without screens. The Tin Can is a Wi-Fi-enabled landline-style telephone introduced last year that has maintained a months-long waitlist. A light-up tablet alternative, a talking robot focused on STEAM topics, and an AI-powered sudoku board are also sold under similar positioning.

Major manufacturers have entered the category.

OpenAI announced a strategic collaboration with Mattel. Lego released a line of smart bricks that contain speakers, microchips, and LED lights. A 2025 survey by Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago found that roughly half of polled parents provide daily screen access to children, frequently citing child-care constraints, while 62 percent reported guilt over the practice.