Topic dossier
The rules aimed at consumer-facing chatbots and AI companions — telling users they are talking to a machine, crisis-referral protocols, and safeguards for younger users. 12 obligations across 1 jurisdiction — 4 in force. Next dated deadline: 1 Oct 2026.
Conversational AI moved from an unregulated product category to a named statutory one during 2026, driven almost entirely by US states. The instruments share a common core: an operator discloses that the system is not human, applies a protocol when a conversation turns to self-harm, and applies additional safeguards when a user is a minor. They differ sharply in scope and teeth — Oregon's SB 1546 carries a private right of action with per-violation statutory damages, Georgia's SB 540 reaches age verification and parental controls, and Connecticut's CART Act phases companion-AI safeguards in alongside its wider AI regime. The obligations below are the instruments AI Law Radar tracks under this theme, each linked to its primary source and dated to its last check.
Binds Operators of conversational AI services serving Iowa consumers. Disclosure and safeguard obligations for conversational AI operators serving Iowa users; compliance applicable 2027-07-01.
Law in force 2026-07-01; compliance obligations applicable from July 1, 2027.
Stated maximum penalty — Civil enforcement by Iowa AG (amount TBD)
Binds Any person creating or deploying AI systems available in Tennessee. Prohibits AI systems from claiming to function as qualified mental health professionals.
Stated maximum penalty — $5,000 per violation (Consumer Protection Act)
Binds Operators of conversational AI services accessible in Hawaii. AI-identity disclosure, minor safeguards, and suicide-prevention protocols for conversational AI operators.
Annual crisis-intervention referral reports to Behavioral Health Administration beginning 2028-01-01.
Stated maximum penalty — $1,000/violation up to $1,000,000/operator
Binds Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) — study mandate only; imposes no compliance duties on AI operators. As enacted, SB 1700 does not impose chatbot safety requirements on operators. Senate amendments stripped the original companion-chatbot restrictions and replaced them with a directive for TACIR to study potential AI/chatbot regulation (federal law, other states' approaches, constitutional issues, minor/mental-health safeguards, economic impact); no report deadline is specified.
Signed 2026-05-22 by Governor Lee as Public Chapter 1082. Bill was substantially amended (Senate amendments adopted 2026-04-14) before passage, removing the original chatbot-safety restrictions.
Stated maximum penalty — None — study mandate only; no compliance obligation imposed on AI operators
Binds Subscription AI providers, frontier developers, AI companion operators, AEDT deployers, and social media platforms serving Connecticut users. Tiered AI obligations: subscription AI disclosures (Oct 2026), companion AI safeguards (Jan 2027), AEDT pre-decision notices (Oct 2027), social media minor restrictions (Jan 2028).
Multiple tiers: subscription AI disclosures 2026-10-01; AI companion 2027-01-01; AEDT disclosures 2027-10-01; social media minor restrictions 2028-01-01.
Stated maximum penalty — CT AG enforcement (unfair/deceptive trade practices)
Binds AI companion chatbot operators serving Washington users. Non-human disclosure, minor safeguards, and self-harm protocols for AI companion chatbot operators.
Disclosures every 3 hours (all users) or 1 hour (minor users).
Stated maximum penalty — Actual damages + injunctive relief + attorney fees; WA AG (Consumer Protection Act)
Binds AI companion and chatbot platform operators serving Oregon users. AI disclosure, self-harm protocols, and minor protections; first chatbot law with private right of action and per-violation statutory damages.
Stated maximum penalty — Greater of actual damages or $1,000 per violation; private right of action; attorney fees
Binds Conversational AI operators serving Colorado users. Safety, disclosure, and minor protection obligations for conversational AI operators in Colorado.
Signed 2026-05-29; legal effective date 2026-08-12; compliance obligations from 2027-01-01.
Stated maximum penalty — CO AG enforcement
Binds Chatbot and companion AI operators serving Rhode Island users. Chatbot/companion AI operators must include suicidal-ideation protocols and crisis referrals; annual reporting to AG from 2027-07-01.
Signed 2026-06-22 by Governor McKee; general effective date 2027-01-01. Annual reports to RI AG beginning July 1, 2027.
Stated maximum penalty — RI AG enforcement
Binds Operators of conversational AI chatbot services accessible to the Georgia public. Age verification, parental controls, AI-identity disclosure, and crisis protocols for conversational AI chatbot operators.
Stated maximum penalty — Up to $10,000 per knowing violation (GA AG enforcement)
Binds Consumer-facing conversational AI service operators serving Idaho users (excludes B2B, internal, customer-service bots). AI identity disclosure, crisis referral protocols, and minor safeguards for consumer-facing conversational AI operators.
Modeled on Nebraska LB 525. Signed 2026-04-01.
Stated maximum penalty — Idaho AG enforcement (amount TBD)
Binds Conversational AI service operators serving Nebraska users. Operators of consumer-facing conversational AI services must disclose AI nature, apply enhanced safeguards for minors, avoid claiming to provide professional mental health care, and provide crisis intervention referrals.
Signed April 14, 2026; operative July 1, 2027 (sections 12–18).
Stated maximum penalty — $1,000 per violation; up to $500,000 per operator per enforcement action; Nebraska AG enforcement only
In a growing number of US states, yes. Hawaii's Act 248, Iowa's SF 2417, Washington's HB 2225, Oregon's SB 1546, Georgia's SB 540, Colorado's HB 26-1263, Idaho's SB 1297 and Nebraska's LB 525 all require consumer-facing conversational AI operators to disclose the system's non-human nature. Each row above links to the controlling text and its effective date.
Hawaii's AI Disclosure and Safety Act (14 July 2026), Iowa's Conversational AI Safety Act (1 July 2026) and Rhode Island's AI Chatbot Safety Act (22 June 2026) are in force. The larger group — Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Nebraska and Tennessee — carries 2027 effective dates. The register above is sorted by that date.
Several of these statutes require an operator to detect expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm and respond with a referral to crisis resources. Rhode Island's S 2195 adds annual reporting to the Attorney General from 1 July 2027; Tennessee's CHAT Act pairs detection duties with a bar on making companion chatbots capable of encouraging self-harm available to minors.
We currently track companion & conversational ai obligations across 1 jurisdiction: United States. Each is dated and linked to its primary source on this page.
Not legal advice. Each obligation links to its primary source and carries the date it was last checked; verify the legal text before relying on it.