Regulatory scoping for AI companions and chatbots
Conversational and companion AI products sit under a new and fast-moving disclosure-and-safety regime. California SB 243 is the first statute aimed squarely at companion chatbots, pairing AI-identity disclosure and self-harm crisis protocols with a private right of action; SB 1001 and the EU AI Act add bot-disclosure duties.
Regulations Magist tracks for this vertical
Coverage of these newer regimes is published as draft and reviewed on a rolling basis.
Questions that determine your footprint
Is your assistant a relationship-sustaining companion?
California SB 243 can apply to AI systems that meet a user’s social needs across interactions, and it requires a published self-harm-prevention and crisis-referral protocol plus AI-identity disclosure; customer-service and productivity bots are typically carved out.
Could minors use it?
For users known to be minors, SB 243 can require a recurring break-and-AI-identity reminder and a guardrail against sexually explicit content, which are affirmative product behaviors rather than one-time disclosures.
Do you ever use a bot in a sales or political context?
SB 1001 can require a clear bot disclosure where a bot communicates with Californians to incentivize a purchase or influence a vote, and the EU AI Act Article 50 adds an AI-interaction disclosure for EU users.
See exactly which of 155+ regulations apply to your ai companions & chatbots product.
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