The federal police commissioner says parents and the community need to step up their support for children, who are turning to AI chatbots when they are sexually victimised online.

More than one in three children turn to AI chatbots for help when they are sexually victimised online, or keep quiet entirely, data shows.

The AFP commissioner says software cannot replace human support and that parents need to encourage children to speak up.

Amid a sharp increase in children as young as 12 being manipulated through AI-altered nude images and sadistic online exploitation, the study found 35 per cent of children sexually victimised online confided in an AI chatbot or did not tell anyone.

More than 15 per cent of young people report seeking personal or counselling advice from AI at least once a week.

Among victimised boys, two in five disclosed their experiences solely to an AI bot or kept quiet entirely.

The AFP is helping to develop a tool that triages reports of harm for human assessment.