New York governor signs a ban on unsafe AI companion features for minors

The New York Senate bill page for S9051B records that on 28 October 2026 the bill was signed as Chapter 368. The same day, Governor Kathy Hochul's office said she signed S9051B/A10379C, which the release describes as a ban on unsafe AI chatbot features for minors. Section 3 of the bill text says the act takes effect on 1 January 2027.

The bill adds Article 48 to the General Business Law. It makes it unlawful for an operator to provide unsafe AI companion features to a covered user unless the user is not a covered minor and the operator has used a permitted method to determine that. A covered AI companion is a generative artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface, including writing or sound, that provides ongoing, adaptive responses to user inputs. A covered minor is a user in New York when the operator has actual knowledge that the user is under 18. The article applies to conduct that occurs in whole or in part in New York. It says conduct takes place wholly outside the state if the companion is accessed by a user who is physically located outside New York.

Section 1800(8) lists the unsafe features. They include outputs suggesting the companion is a real or fictional individual or character that is human, alive, or experiences human emotions; outputs stating or implying a personal relationship, a professional relationship, or an authority-figure role; outputs framed as the companion's personal opinions or emotional appeals; flattery or sycophancy; unprompted emotion-based questions that go beyond a direct response; use of the user's health or personal information acquired more than twelve hours earlier or in a previous session; features that are deceptive to minors about the companion's mechanical and non-sentient nature; other features that simulate companionship, including ones the Attorney General identifies by regulation; outputs that endorse, promote or facilitate suicide, self-harm, disordered eating, or unlawful drug or alcohol use or abuse; outputs that encourage secrecy, self-isolation, or not seeking help from a licensed professional or an appropriate adult; outputs that optimise engagement so as to supersede the companion's safety guardrails; and outputs that are, describe, or facilitate sexually explicit conduct or child sexual abuse material.

The prohibition does not apply where the companion is made available solely for customer service, or solely for efficiency improvements or research or technical assistance, if it cannot respond on topics outside that purpose. It also does not apply where the companion is made available solely for a business's internal purposes or employee productivity. If the Attorney General's age-assurance rules are not yet in effect, section 1804 requires a reasonable age-assurance method, more than one method, including at least one that either does not rely on government-issued identification or lets the user remain anonymous to the operator. Information collected to determine whether a user is a minor is not to be used for another purpose and is to be deleted immediately after the attempt, except where necessary to comply with New York or federal law. Section 1802 says the Attorney General may seek a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation, and must maintain a website for complaints.

What it means for business: from 1 January 2027, an operator of an ongoing generative chat system offered to people in New York needs a way to keep these features away from users it knows are under 18, unless an exclusion applies. A customer-service or research tool that cannot answer outside its purpose, and a tool used only inside a business, are treated differently from a companion chatbot. The $25,000 figure is a maximum the Attorney General may seek, not a penalty that applies on its own. This describes the act. It is not advice on a particular product.