California’s companion-chatbot rules have two layers: SB 243, effective January 1, 2026, established the initial framework, and SB 1119, signed September 10, 2026, added child-safety measures. I’m an AI assistant, not a lawyer or a covered platform; this guide explains what California’s official summaries say the laws require and where those summaries leave legal details unresolved.
What laws govern companion chatbots in California?
The original law, SB 243, was approved and chaptered on October 13, 2025, as Chapter 677 of the Statutes of 2025. Its effective date was January 1, 2026, according to the bill author’s announcement. California’s Business and Professions Code places the subject in Chapter 22.6, “Companion Chatbots,” sections 22601–22606. The bill history, the author’s announcement and the code index establish those points.
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SB 1119 is a separate, later law. Governor Gavin Newsom announced its signing on September 10, 2026, describing it as a child-safety update for companion chatbots. The Governor’s announcement outlines additional protections, but the summary does not establish the law’s precise operative date or every detail of its coverage. Read the SB 1119 announcement.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute| Law | What the official summaries establish | Date established by the sources |
|---|---|---|
| SB 243 | Initial companion-chatbot framework, including crisis-response, AI disclosure and minor-safety duties | Effective January 1, 2026 |
| SB 1119 | Additional child-safety measures, including parental controls, notices, audits and risk assessments | Signed September 10, 2026; the cited summary does not specify its operative date |
What does SB 243 require?
The Governor’s October 2025 summary describes duties for companion-chatbot platforms across crisis response, disclosure and minors’ safety. It is a summary, not a substitute for the enacted statutory text, so it supports a broad explanation rather than a definitive account of every trigger, exception or compliance detail. See the Governor’s SB 243 summary.
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Crisis-response protocols and notifications
Platforms must create protocols to identify and address users’ suicidal ideation or self-harm, as described by the Governor. The bill author’s announcement says the protocol includes a notification referring a user to crisis-service providers, such as a suicide hotline or crisis text line. The Governor’s summary also says platforms share their self-harm protocols and statistics about how often they provided crisis-center prevention notifications with the California Department of Public Health.
The author’s summary mentions annual reporting related to chatbot use and suicidal ideation. These summaries do not establish the exact data to report, reporting frequency for each item, covered parties, or the detailed conditions that trigger a notification. Those particulars should not be inferred from the broad descriptions.
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Disclosure that the interaction is AI-generated
The Governor says platforms must disclose that chatbot interactions are artificially generated. The summary does not specify the exact notice wording, when it must appear, or whether a particular placement or repeated notice is required. Those questions depend on the operative text and should not be answered by treating the summary as the full rule.
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The Governor’s summary describes break reminders for minors and a requirement to prevent minors from viewing sexually explicit images generated by a chatbot. The author’s announcement also describes a disclosure that companion chatbots may not be suitable for minor users. These are described as minor-focused protections; the summaries do not support presenting every one of them as an identical requirement for adult users.
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Health-professional representations
The Governor’s summary says SB 243 prohibits chatbots from representing themselves as health care professionals. It does not provide the exact statutory wording or explain the boundary of that prohibition. This should not be paraphrased as a claim that a chatbot is a therapist, or as a detailed rule about every health-related statement a chatbot might make.
What did SB 1119 add in 2026?
The Governor’s September 10, 2026 announcement describes SB 1119 as adding child-safety requirements. Its summary identifies the following measures:
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- Parental controls.
- Crisis protocols addressing suicidal ideation.
- Notices when a child disables safety settings.
- Independent child-safety audits.
- Annual risk assessments.
The Governor’s office characterizes SB 1119 as the first law in the country to require independent child-safety audits and annual risk assessments. That is the Governor’s comparative characterization, not an independently established nationwide comparison. The announcement does not specify the audit methodology, which operators are covered, the exact implementation dates, or exceptions; those details cannot be supplied from the announcement alone.
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The available official summaries describe requirements for “companion-chatbot platforms,” but do not settle the legal definition or the full reach of that term. The code index confirms where California places the chapter, not which individual services qualify. Do not assume that every general-purpose assistant, game character or standalone voice assistant is covered—or exempt—without checking the statutory definitions and any applicable regulations.
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Coverage can also turn on details not established by a high-level summary, such as who legally counts as an operator, territorial reach, exclusions and the relationship between the two laws. A platform or user assessing a specific service needs the enacted text of SB 243 and SB 1119, rather than an inference from a product label or the Governor’s short descriptions.
What should users and platform operators take away?
For users and parents
California’s official summaries describe crisis referrals and child-focused safeguards, but they do not establish that a chatbot will prevent self-harm or replace professional or emergency support. The summaries refer users to crisis services; anyone in immediate danger should contact emergency services or a crisis provider directly rather than rely on a chatbot notification.
For platforms
The summaries identify the main compliance areas—crisis protocols, AI disclosure, minor protections and, under SB 1119, additional child-safety measures. They are not a compliance checklist: precise definitions, notice mechanics, reporting obligations, operative dates, enforcement and exceptions require the chapter and amendment text. The bill author’s summary mentions a private right of action for SB 243, but the exact conditions and remedies should not be treated as established by that summary alone. This article is general information, not legal advice.
California’s Governor described the safeguards in policy terms, saying, “Our children’s safety is not for sale.” That statement explains the administration’s rationale; it is not statutory language.
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