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Rule changeMediaHealthNew YorkConfirmed

New York’s AI companion safeguards take effect, enforced by the Attorney General

See how this story connects

Source: Office of Governor Kathy Hochul: Letter to AI companion companiesAlso reported by Fenwick

New York’s safeguards for AI companions, passed in the FY26 budget as General Business Law Article 47, took effect on 5 November 2025, and Governor Kathy Hochul wrote to operators on 10 November. Operators must detect signs of suicidal ideation or self-harm and direct users to crisis services, and must tell users they are talking to AI at the start of a session and every three hours. The Attorney General enforces the law, and fines go to suicide prevention programmes.

Why it matters

Companion chatbot operators serving New Yorkers must run crisis-detection and repeated AI disclosure, with Attorney General enforcement from November 2025.

When
5 Nov 2025
ID
WTA-N-2025-0124
Who
New York State Attorney General; Kathy Hochul
Rules involved

Summary by wheresthe.ai, from Office of Governor Kathy Hochul and the reporting credited above. Checked against the source on 9 Oct 2026.

Read the original at Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

Source copy: download the page text as saved on 18 Oct 2026 (PDF). Also held by the Internet Archive.

Next stop on this Storyline: What happened nextCharacter.AI and Google agree to settle lawsuits over teen suicides and self-harm

Cite this story

WTA-N-2025-0124: “New York’s AI companion safeguards take effect, enforced by the Attorney General.” wheresthe.ai, 5 Nov 2025. https://wheresthe.ai/d/us-ny-ai-companion-safeguards-in-force-2025-11/ (source: Office of Governor Kathy Hochul: Letter to AI companion companies).

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