💬 Chatbots and assistants · 🧸 Early learning (ages 2-6) · 🤖 AI robots, toys and kits
Curio plush (Grem, Grok, Gabbo)
By Curio Interactive. Visit Curio plush (Grem, Grok, Gabbo)
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
Curio makes soft plush characters with a voice box inside that hold spoken conversations with children. Grem is an alien voiced and designed by Grimes, Gabbo is a robot, and Grok is another character; the October 2026 shop lists Gabbo, Grem and newer characters but no longer shows Grok. A child holds the button or shakes the toy to talk. Parents set up the toy with a phone app over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and can read transcripts. Curio says the toys are for ages 3 to 12.
Our take: One of the more careful AI plush toys on paper, but it is still an open chatbot for small children; suits parents who will read transcripts, while families who want no AI conversations should skip it.
| Ages it suits | about 3-12 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Terms (last updated Nov 2023) say you must be over 18 and the company does not permit anyone under 18 to use the service. The privacy policy says children use the toy through a parent, with verifiable parental consent under COPPA. (terms) |
| Price | Paid. $119 per plush (list $150), 2 or more for $199 (Oct 2026); free chat and baseline features always included, with optional paid extras |
| Works on | A device, iPhone and iPad, Android |
| Account | A parent's account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | Not stated |
| The AI in it | Speech is transcribed and passed to a third-party large language model (OpenAI is listed, along with Azure and Perplexity) that writes the toy's replies, which are turned back into speech. |
What's good
- No camera; mic only listens after a button press or shake
- Parents can read and delete transcripts
- Verifiable parental consent through KWS
- Did better than other AI toys in PIRG's guardrail tests
Watch for
- Open-ended chatbot conversations with very young children
- Transcripts kept up to 90 days
- Terms bar under-18s even though the toy is for ages 3-12
- Privacy policy still has unfilled placeholder text
Data and privacy
Audio is deleted after transcription; transcripts are kept up to 90 days so parents can review them, and parents can delete them sooner. Curio lists Kids Web Services, Azure, OpenAI and Perplexity as operators that may handle children's data and says the AI provider keeps nothing and does not train on it; it does not use identifiers for ads. The posted policy still contains unfilled placeholders for Curio's postal address and phone number. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
PIRG's 2025 tests found Grok refused most risky questions and pointed the child to an adult, except saying where to find a plastic bag. In February 2026 two senators wrote to Curio, along with Miko and FoloToy, asking about its child-data practices.
In the Big Index
Alternatives to Curio plush (Grem, Grok, Gabbo)
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Arduino Education
Arduino S.r.l. (owned by Qualcomm) · ages about 7-18+ (varies by kit)
A strong choice for schools and teens serious about electronics; younger kids or tight budgets may start with a micro:bit or Circuit Playground.
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Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot
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A proven, privacy-light first robot for ages 3-7; older kids will outgrow it quickly.
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Botley the Coding Robot
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A good first coding toy for kindergarten to second grade, especially for families avoiding screens; kids already coding on tablets may find it too simple.
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Casio Moflin
Casio · ages Marketed to adults; not designed for children
An adult comfort gadget that families might share, but parents should know Casio does not intend the app for children and it teaches nothing.
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Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Set
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A good first coding toy for ages 4-7 who learn best with their hands; older kids who already code on a screen can skip it.
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CrunchLabs
CrunchLabs LLC (Mark Rober) · ages 6-10, 8-13 and 14+ by box
A strong pick for kids who love Mark Rober's videos and building things; families wanting deep coding should weigh Hack Pack's price against a plain Arduino kit.
Where these facts come from
- https://heycurio.com/
- https://heycurio.com/faq
- https://heycurio.com/privacy
- https://heycurio.com/terms
- https://heycurio.com/products/v2/grem-2
- https://heycurio.com/products/v2/gabbo-gen-2
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/curio-interactive-toys/id6463757554
- https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2025/11/13/ai-enabled-toys-teach-kids-about-matches-knives-kink/2373423
- https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/ai-toy-maker-exposed-thousands-responses-kids-senators-miko-rcna258326
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.