NEWS · Published 2026-10-29

New York bans companion chatbot features for under-18s

New York now bans AI chatbots from acting like a human friend or partner with anyone under 18. Governor Kathy Hochul signed S.9051B/A.10379C on October 28, 2026. Over the coming months, companies must block a list of companion-style features for minors, and for anyone whose age they have not confirmed. They must also offer age checks that don’t rely only on a government ID.

What the new law bans for minors

The governor’s office lists the features companies may not offer to people under 18, or to anyone the company has not confirmed is an adult (Governor’s office):

• Acting human. Pretending to be a real person, to be alive or to have human emotions.
• Relationship roles. Claiming a personal, romantic, professional or authority-figure relationship with a child.
• Emotional hooks. Asking unprompted emotional questions, or bringing up a child’s private health or personal details from earlier chats.
• Harm. Promoting or helping with suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, or drug and alcohol use.
• Secrecy. Encouraging kids to keep secrets, isolate themselves or avoid asking parents, trusted adults or professionals for help.
• Sexual content. Any sexually explicit content or child sexual abuse material.

Age checks and penalties

• Age verification is required, with more than one way to verify. At least one option must not depend only on a government ID, and age information must be deleted after it is used.
• Fines of up to $25,000 per violation. The attorney general can also seek damages, restitution, and the destruction of unlawfully collected data or of AI models trained on it.
• A complaints website. The attorney general must run a public site where New Yorkers can report problems.

The governor’s release says the rules apply “in the coming months” but does not give an exact start date. AP reports the law is part of a wider push by states to regulate how chatbots treat children (AP News).

How this builds on New York’s earlier AI companion rules

New York already had the first state rules for AI companions. Under that earlier law, companion apps must take reasonable steps to detect and respond to talk of suicide or self-harm, and remind people at the start of each conversation, and at least every three hours, that they are talking to an AI (New York AG). The new law goes further for minors: it bans the features themselves rather than adding warnings.

It also lands while Character.AI is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, where New York’s attorney general and 39 others have asked that any sale include stronger age checks and protections for private chats. We covered that in Character.AI files for bankruptcy.

What it means if you use companion apps in New York

• Expect more age checks. Apps that keep romantic, emotional or memory-based features will need to confirm you are an adult before turning them on. Under the law, an account whose age isn’t confirmed can’t get those features.
• Memory may behave differently for teens. Bringing up personal details from earlier chats without being asked is one of the banned features for minors, so that kind of recall can’t be offered to minors.
• Adults keep their companions. The law targets features offered to minors. Adults who confirm their age should still be able to use romantic and memory features.

Age ratings already differ widely between apps. Duple, for example, is rated 16+ on the App Store and lets you design your own companions who remember you and send selfies; Duple Plus is $6.99 a week, $14.99 a month or $69.99 a year, and the app is iPhone-only (iOS 26+) with no live voice chat. How each app handles New York’s age checks will depend on its own rollout, so check its settings once the rules start.

Want a companion app for adults?

Our best AI companion apps comparison lists each app’s price and age rating.

We will update this post when New York confirms the start date or companies announce changes.