Roblox launches AI-powered chat rephrasing to replace banned words

Roblox announced on Thursday that it is introducing a real-time, AI-powered chat rephrasing feature that automatically replaces banned words with more respectful language. The new feature is supported in all languages currently available through Roblox’s automatic translation tools. Previously, the platform’s text filter replaced banned words and phrases with hash marks, which the company noted can disrupt conversations and make them difficult to follow. Under the new system, filtered text is rephrased into respectful language that remains close to the user’s original intent—such as rephrasing “Hurry TF up!” to “Hurry up!”—and chat participants are notified when a message has been rephrased to keep the conversation civil.

In addition to the rephrasing feature, the company is upgrading its text-filtering system to detect more variations of banned language. This includes identifying leetspeak—a system of modified spellings that replaces letters with numbers or symbols—and other sophisticated attempts to bypass safety filters. Roblox reported that early results show the upgraded system has reduced the prevalence of false negatives when sharing or soliciting personal information by 20x.

“Chat is central to how people connect, coordinate, and play on Roblox,” said Rajiv Bhatia, vice president of User and Discovery Product at Roblox. “Real-time rephrasing helps keep gameplay and conversations on track while guiding language toward what’s appropriate. This approach reduces friction in chat while maintaining the standards that help keep our community civil.”

The safety updates come amid significant legal pressure regarding the platform’s moderation. The announcement follows lawsuits over child safety from the attorneys general of Texas, Kentucky, and Louisiana—the top state-level law enforcement officials in those states. These legal actions were initiated following reports that Roblox was exposing young users to dangerous risks, such as grooming and explicit content. While the new rephrasing feature is designed to reduce chat disruption, Roblox noted that its broader safety system remains in effect to address more serious behavior.

Why it matters

Roblox is deploying AI-powered chat rephrasing to mitigate conversation disruption caused by traditional hash-mark filtering, while simultaneously strengthening its safety systems following legal pressure regarding child safety.