Zorg: the AI companion that children teach
2026-11-06 13:50
News
Most learning apps explain things to children. Zorg works the other way round: he asks the questions, and the child does the explaining. Zorg is built on learning by teaching — we call it reverse learning: the child teaches, and Zorg learns. Researchers call the boost children get from teaching a character the protégé effect.
- AI companion app for children aged 6–12
- Two languages — Zorg speaks English and Russian
How it works
1. Zorg asks.
In Chat or Game mode, Zorg asks your child a question about Earth: "Why is the sky blue?" "Why do people cry?" Simple questions that are surprisingly hard to answer.
2. The child finds out.
Your child opens the Knowledge Base, the onboard computer of Zorg's flying saucer, and looks for the answer on their own.
3. The child explains.
They come back and tell Zorg the answer out loud, in their own words. Now the child is the expert, and Zorg is the one learning.
In Chat or Game mode, Zorg asks your child a question about Earth: "Why is the sky blue?" "Why do people cry?" Simple questions that are surprisingly hard to answer.
2. The child finds out.
Your child opens the Knowledge Base, the onboard computer of Zorg's flying saucer, and looks for the answer on their own.
3. The child explains.
They come back and tell Zorg the answer out loud, in their own words. Now the child is the expert, and Zorg is the one learning.
Why explaining helps
Explaining is different from reading. To explain something to someone, a child has to organize what they know, find the right words, put their thoughts into speech and check their own understanding. Research backs this up:
- In one experiment, people who prepared to teach a lesson and then explained it on video understood it best on a delayed test (Fiorella & Mayer, 2014, Contemporary Educational Psychology).
- Eighth-graders who believed they were teaching a digital character spent more time on learning and learned more than classmates who used the same program without teaching anyone — known as the protégé effect (Chase et al., 2009, Journal of Science Education and Technology).
Three modes
- Chat — Zorg learns what your child is interested in and talks with them by voice.
- Game — five levels, driven by curiosity rather than grades.
- Knowledge Base — clear answers to Zorg's questions, for children, parents and teachers.
What Zorg can do
- Adjusts to age — a 6-year-old and a 12-year-old get different levels automatically.
- Remembers progress — every session picks up where the last one ended.
- Talk or type — your child can speak to Zorg out loud or type, whichever is easier. Speaking out loud is a chance to practice putting thoughts into words.
Safety
Zorg is designed to steer away from topics that are not suitable for children. We use multi-level content filtering, and the app shows no third-party ads.
Where to download
Your invitation code: 33333
Save the code — you will need it right after installing the app.