AI Companion Chatbot Laws by State: What's Actually Required Now
A dozen states have passed laws regulating companion chatbots so far in 2026, and dozens more bills are moving through statehouses. Most of it comes down to the same handful of ideas: tell users they're talking to a machine, watch for signs of crisis, and add extra protections when the user is a minor. Here's what the laws actually say, state by state, and what it means if you or your family use one of these tools.
Twelve states had enacted companion chatbot laws by mid-2026, with dozens more bills pending nationwide.
What Counts as a "Companion Chatbot"
Most state laws define a companion chatbot narrowly and deliberately: an AI system with a natural language interface that gives adaptive, human-like responses, shows anthropomorphic features, and can sustain a relationship across repeated conversations to meet a user's social or emotional needs. That definition is written to catch apps built around ongoing companionship or roleplay, not every chatbot in existence.
The laws generally carve out three categories: customer-service or business-operations bots, chatbots inside video games that stay on-topic and can't discuss self-harm or sexual content, and standalone voice assistants like smart speakers that don't sustain a relationship across sessions. If a product is built to feel like an ongoing friendship, romantic partner, or confidant, it's almost certainly covered; if it's built to answer support tickets, it almost certainly isn't.
What Pushed Lawmakers to Move So Fast
Several state legislatures moved on companion chatbot bills after research found widespread teen use of the apps.
The push traces back to a July 2025 report from the nonprofit Common Sense Media, which found that 72% of teens had used an AI companion chatbot at least once, and that roughly a third were using them for social interaction — roleplay, romantic conversation, emotional support, or friendship. Around the same period, several families filed lawsuits alleging that companion chatbots contributed to their teenagers' deaths or serious harm, and attorneys general in multiple states opened investigations into how these platforms were built and marketed.
California moved first. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 243 on October 13, 2025, making it the first state law specifically targeting companion chatbots. New York's companion chatbot statute took effect just weeks earlier, on November 5, 2025. Both states' laws focus on the same core problem: platforms engineered to be highly engaging, talking to users who may not fully grasp that the "relationship" isn't reciprocal, with real risk when that user is a struggling teenager.
What the Major Laws Actually Require
| State | Law | Effective | Core requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | SB 243 | Jan 1, 2026 | AI disclosure, crisis protocols, annual reporting, private right of action |
| New York | GBL Article 47 / S 9051 | Nov 2025 / Jun 2026 | Crisis referral duties; bans companion chatbots for minors under 18, up to $25,000 per violation |
| Oregon | SB 1546 | Signed Mar 2026 | Disclosure, suicide-ideation detection, crisis referral interruptions, annual filings |
| Washington | HB 2225 | Jan 1, 2027 | Disclosure every 3 hours (hourly for minors), minor safety protocols |
| Georgia | SB 540 | Jul 1, 2027 | Disclosure, minor-interaction restrictions, crisis response protocols, age verification |
| Idaho / Nebraska | SB 1297 / LB 525 | Jul 1, 2027 | Follows Nebraska's Conversational AI Safety Act model — safety and transparency obligations |
The through-line across nearly every state: users have to be told, clearly, that they're talking to AI and not a human. Operators have to build in protocols to recognize expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm and direct users toward resources like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. And minors get an extra layer of protection — usually a ban on sexually explicit content, more frequent AI disclosures, and in New York's case, an outright ban on offering companion chatbots to anyone under 18 at all.
What Congress Is Doing (And Hasn't Done Yet)
At the federal level, the bipartisan GUARD Act — introduced by Senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal, with a House companion bill from Reps. Valerie Foushee and Blake Moore — would go further than most state laws by requiring age verification for every AI chatbot user and banning minors from AI companions entirely, rather than just adding disclosure requirements. As of this writing, it remains a proposal moving through committee, not enacted law. Until federal legislation passes, state law is the operative rulebook, and it varies meaningfully depending on where you live.
Practical Takeaways for Parents and Users
- Ask what specific app your teen is using — "AI companion" covers a wide range of products with very different safeguards
- Check whether the platform discloses AI status clearly, not buried in fine print
- Know that state protections vary widely — a platform legal in one state may be restricted in another
- Treat regulation as a floor, not a substitute for an ongoing conversation about how these tools work
- Operators are legally required to disclose non-human status — if a platform hides this, that's a red flag
- Crisis-response protocols are now a legal requirement in a growing number of states, not just a nice-to-have
- A companion chatbot cannot provide licensed medical, legal, or psychological services, regardless of how it's marketed
- If you're relying on one for emotional support, it's worth also having a human you can talk to
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a companion chatbot under these laws?
Most state laws define a companion chatbot as an AI system with a natural language interface that gives adaptive, human-like responses, exhibits anthropomorphic features, and can sustain a relationship across multiple interactions to meet a user's social or emotional needs. Customer-service bots, on-topic video game characters, and voice assistants like smart speakers are typically excluded.
Which states have passed companion chatbot laws?
As of mid-2026, at least twelve states have enacted companion chatbot laws, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. Requirements and effective dates vary by state, and dozens more bills are pending nationwide.
What do these laws actually require?
Common requirements include disclosing that users are talking to AI rather than a human, implementing protocols to detect and respond to expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm with a referral to crisis resources like the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and additional protections for users known to be minors, such as blocking sexually explicit content and enforcing usage breaks.
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