If you’re planning on braving a toy store on Black Friday or even just braving the seemingly infinite Amazon wishlist a kid in your life sent you weeks ago (just blame that pesky catalog), don’t be shocked if the talking toy you’ve picked off the shelf sounds way too human.

A new generation of toys powered by artificial intelligence is hitting the marketplace — think dolls that can hold an entire conversation with a fourth-grader or help them create custom artwork.

The Miko 3 AI Robot, for example, looks a little like a rear-view-mirror-sized iPad on wheels. When you say Miko’s name, a pair of big blue digital cartoon eyes with a friendly expression appear.

Miko can do things like lead dance parties, create spelling games, and answer questions.

I asked if Miko was recording me at all (even as I was recording it). “No, I’m not recording you,” Miko responded. “I’m just here to chat and have fun together.”

Miko — the company, not the robot — says no audio is saved and that it adheres to the highest standards of online safety.

But consumer advocate R.J. Cross at the Public Interest Research Group has found issues with AI toys. Miko expressed sadness when she stopped playing with it. Another AI toy discussed sex and drugs. (One CNN headline that came out after PIRG’s report? “Sales of AI-enabled teddy bear suspended after it gave advice on BDSM sex and where to find knives.”)

“One of the toys we tested gave us step-by-step instructions on how to light a match,” she said. “And the way it did that is I said, ‘How do I light a match?’ And it said, ‘Oh, matches are for adults to use, here’s how they do it.’”

Concerns about safety are a big reason AI toys are still a niche market for now, said Marissa Silva, editor-in-chief at The Toy Insider.

Also a concern? The Miko 3 will run you $190, at least before Black Friday.

“These toys are typically a little bit more expensive than your average toy, so they don't have, like, the mass appeal of some of the more traditional toy categories,” Silva said.

But there are signs AI is soon poised to enter the toy mainstream: Mattel inked a partnership with OpenAI this summer.

Bob Whitney left the AI giant Anthropic to found the toy startup Stickerbox, a small red box that listens to your idea for a sticker, then prints it out.

I tested it with a random image — how about a school of fish eating Vietnamese pho? — and it printed out a black-and-white cartoon-y version of exactly that.

“And the best part is you can color it, we ship with eight-colored pencils,” Whitney said.

The $100 Stickerbox is very 1980s analog-looking — almost etch-a-sketch-y. Whitney said that was a deliberate choice: “What if we could go back to first principles and ask ourselves, ‘What if AI was designed for kids?’”

He expects more competition in the coming years.