A short guide for families joining the beta. Read this once before your first message, then get on with it. Alfie works best when you use it like a conversation, not a form.
Alfie is an AI thinking partner. That word matters. It's designed to help you think things through, not to give you diagnoses, treatment, or professional opinions. Clarity on what Alfie does and doesn't do will save you frustration and help you get more out of every conversation.
Alfie responds best when you write the way you'd speak to a thoughtful friend who understands neurodiversity. Short, honest messages. Real situations. No need to explain everything upfront — Alfie will ask if something's unclear.
You'll receive a WhatsApp message from Alfie confirming your gateway is active. Reply with a simple "hello" or ask a question — there's no wrong way to begin.
In the first few conversations, Alfie will gently learn about your family: your teen's age, what you're working through, what's gone well, what's been hard. You don't need to prepare this — it comes out naturally.
After a few conversations, you'll notice Alfie remembers what you've shared. You won't need to re-introduce your teen every time. The support gets more relevant the more you use it.
Every few weeks, we'll ask for your feedback. Beta families are not just users — you are shaping how Alfie develops. What you tell us becomes what Alfie becomes.
A small set of keywords lets you control your experience. Send them to Alfie at any time.
Alfie is built to recognise when a conversation suggests real risk — to the teen, to the parent, or to someone else. When that happens, Alfie will always point toward the right support, and the Spectrum Alpha team is alerted so we can follow up if needed.
If you or your teen are in immediate danger, please contact emergency services in your country. Alfie is not a crisis line and cannot replace professional support.
For non-emergency safeguarding concerns, you can always email support@spectrumalpha.org. The Spectrum Alpha team reviews the safeguarding log weekly and follows up with any family flagged for a concern.
Full details of how Alfie handles specific issues and how we escalate concerns are in our Safeguarding Policy.
Alfie remembers your conversations so it can help you better over time. That memory is stored securely, used only to improve your experience, and never sold or shared with third parties. Parent and teen conversations are kept separately — teens have a private space where what they say stays between them and Alfie, except where our safeguarding commitments require us to act.
Full details on what we store, for how long, and how to request your data or its deletion are in our Privacy Policy.
If Alfie is already active on your WhatsApp, just send a message. If you haven't registered yet, the beta is still accepting families in ten countries.
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