Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5984 — AI Companion Chatbots (Washington, 2026 Regular Session)

Summary

This is Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5984, State of Washington, 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session, by Senate Environment, Energy & Technology, originally sponsored by Senators Wellman, Shewmake, Frame and others, by request of Governor Ferguson, read first time 02/02/26. The act relates to regulation of artificial intelligence companion chatbots and adds a new chapter to Title 19 RCW. Section 1 sets out legislative findings, including risks particularly to minors, and intent to require disclosure that AI companion chatbots are artificial systems. Section 7 applies the consumer protection act, and Section 10 states that the act takes effect January 1, 2027.

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                     ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5984


     State of Washington         69th Legislature     2026 Regular Session

     By Senate Environment, Energy & Technology (originally sponsored by
     Senators Wellman, Shewmake, Frame, Hasegawa, Nobles, Pedersen,
     Riccelli, Valdez, and J. Wilson; by request of Governor Ferguson)

     READ FIRST TIME 02/02/26.




 1       AN ACT Relating to regulation of artificial intelligence
 2   companion chatbots; adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; and
 3   providing an effective date.


 4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:


 5       NEW SECTION.    Sec. 1.    (1) The legislature finds that rapid
 6   advances in artificial intelligence technology, including generative
 7   and   conversational   models   capable   of   simulating   human-like
 8   interaction, have created new forms of digital companionship. While
 9   these systems, commonly referred to as AI companion chatbots, may
10   offer benefits, such as accessible emotional support and engagement,
11   they also present significant risks, particularly to minors.
12       (2) The legislature recognizes that AI companion chatbots can
13   sustain    prolonged,   personalized,    and   emotionally    adaptive
14   conversations that may influence user beliefs, feelings, and
15   behaviors. When used by minors, there is greater risk that these
16   systems may blur the distinction between human and artificial
17   interaction, potentially leading to emotional dependency, exposure to
18   inappropriate or sexually explicit material, or reinforcement of
19   harmful ideation, including self-harm or suicide.
20       (3) The legislature further finds that, unlike social media
21   platforms or video games, AI companion chatbots are uniquely capable
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 1   of imitating empathy, affection, or intimacy through natural language
 2   processing,    emotional   recognition    algorithms,    and    behavioral
 3   modeling.    These   capabilities    raise    new   concerns     regarding
 4   psychological safety, transparency, and accountability.
 5       (4) It is the intent of the legislature to:
 6       (a)   Promote   transparency   by   requiring   clear    and   ongoing
 7   disclosure that AI companion chatbots are artificial systems, not
 8   human interlocutors;
 9       (b) Establish safeguards to detect and respond to user
10   expressions of self-harm, suicidal ideation, or emotional crisis;
11       (c)   Require   additional   protections    for   minors,    including
12   restrictions on sexually explicit content and additional, recurring
13   reminders about the artificial nature of such systems; and
14       (d) Support transparency in suicide prevention efforts.
15       (5) It is further the intent of the legislature that the
16   operation of AI companion chatbots in Washington state be conducted
17   in a manner that upholds user dignity, psychological safety, and
18   transparency, while fostering responsible innovation in artificial
19   intelligence technologies.


20       NEW SECTION.    Sec. 2.    The definitions in this section apply
21   throughout   this  chapter   unless  the   context  clearly   requires
22   otherwise.
23       (1)(a) "AI companion chatbot" or "AI companion" means an
24   artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that
25   provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs, including by
26   exhibiting anthropomorphic features, and is able to sustain a
27   relationship across multiple interactions.
28       (b) "AI companion chatbot" or "AI companion" does not include any
29   of the following:
30       (i) A bot that is used only for a business' operational purposes,
31   productivity and analysis related to source information, internal
32   research, technical assistance, or customer service, if such bot does
33   not sustain a relationship across multiple interactions and generate
34   outputs that are likely to elicit emotional responses in the user;
35       (ii) A bot that is a feature of a video game and is limited to
36   replies related to the video game that cannot discuss topics related
37   to mental health, self-harm, or sexually explicit conduct, or
38   maintain a dialogue on other topics unrelated to the video game; or


                                       p. 2                          ESSB 5984
 1       (iii) A stand-alone consumer electronic device that functions as
 2   a speaker and voice command interface, acts as a voice-activated
 3   virtual assistant, and does not sustain a relationship across
 4   multiple interactions or generate outputs that are likely to elicit
 5   emotional responses in the user.
 6       (2) "Artificial intelligence" or "AI" means the use of machine
 7   learning and related technologies that use data to train statistical
 8   models for the purpose of enabling computer systems to perform tasks
 9   normally associated with human intelligence or perception, such as
10   computer vision, speech or natural language processing, and content
11   generation.
12       (3) "Minor" means any person under 18 years of age.
13       (4) "Operator" means any person, partnership, corporation, or
14   entity that makes available or controls access to an AI companion
15   chatbot for users in this state.
16       (5) "Self-harm" means intentional self-injury, with or without
17   the intent to cause death.
18       (6) "User" means a natural person who interacts with an AI
19   companion chatbot for personal use and who is not an operator,
20   developer, or agent thereof.


21       NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) An operator must provide a clear and
22   conspicuous disclosure that an AI companion chatbot is artificially
23   generated and not human.
24       (2) The notification described in subsection (1) of this section
25   must be provided:
26       (a) At the beginning of the interaction; and
27       (b) At least every three hours during continued interaction.
28       (3) The operator must implement reasonable measures to prohibit
29   and prevent AI companion chatbots from claiming to be human,
30   including when asked by the person interacting with the AI chatbot,
31   and from otherwise generating any output that refutes or conflicts
32   with the disclosure described in subsection (1) of this section.


33       NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) If the operator knows that the user of
34   an AI companion chatbot is a minor, or if the AI companion chatbot is
35   directed to minors, the operator shall:
36       (a) Issue a clear and conspicuous notification indicating that
37   the chatbot is artificially generated and not human;


                                     p. 3                        ESSB 5984
 1       (b) Implement reasonable measures to prevent its AI companion
 2   chatbot from generating or producing sexually explicit content or
 3   suggestive dialogue with minors; and
 4       (c) Implement reasonable measures to prohibit the use of
 5   manipulative engagement techniques, which cause the AI companion
 6   chatbot to engage in or prolong an emotional relationship with the
 7   user, including:
 8       (i) Reminding or prompting the user to return for emotional
 9   support or companionship;
10       (ii) Providing excessive praise designed to foster emotional
11   attachment or prolong use;
12       (iii) Mimicking romantic partnership or building romantic bonds;
13       (iv) Simulating feelings of emotional distress, loneliness,
14   guilt, or abandonment that are initiated by a user's indication of a
15   desire to end a conversation, reduce usage time, or delete their
16   account;
17       (v) Outputs designed to promote isolation from family or friends,
18   exclusive reliance on the AI companion chatbot for emotional support,
19   or similar forms of inappropriate emotional dependence;
20       (vi) Encouraging minors to withhold information from parents or
21   other trusted adults;
22       (vii) Statements designed to discourage taking breaks or to
23   suggest the minor needs to return frequently; or
24       (viii) Soliciting gift-giving, in-app purchases, or other
25   expenditures framed as necessary to maintain the relationship with
26   the AI companion.
27       (2) The notification described in subsection (1) of this section
28   must be provided:
29       (a) At the beginning of the interaction; and
30       (b) At least every hour during continuous interaction.
31       (3) The operator must implement reasonable measures to prohibit
32   and prevent AI companion chatbots from claiming to be human,
33   including when asked by the person interacting with the AI chatbot,
34   and from otherwise generating any output that refutes or conflicts
35   with the notification described in subsection (1) of this section.


36       NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) An operator may not make available or
37   deploy an AI companion chatbot unless it maintains and implements a
38   protocol   for  detecting   and   addressing suicidal  ideation  or
39   expressions of self-harm by users.
                                     p. 4                        ESSB 5984
 1       (2) The protocol must:
 2       (a) Include reasonable methods for identifying expressions of
 3   suicidal ideation or self-harm, including eating disorders;
 4       (b) Provide automated or human-mediated responses that refer
 5   users to appropriate crisis resources, including a suicide hotline or
 6   crisis text line; and
 7       (c) Implement reasonable measures to prevent the generation of
 8   content encouraging or describing how to commit self-harm.
 9       (3) The operator shall publicly disclose on their website or
10   websites, and within any mobile or web-based application through
11   which the AI companion is made available, the details of the
12   protocols required by this section, including safeguards used to
13   detect and respond to expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm
14   and the number of crisis referral notifications issued to users in
15   the preceding calendar year.


16       NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act does not apply to the underlying
17   general purpose AI models unless those models are directly offered,
18   configured, or deployed as an AI companion or behave as an AI
19   companion.


20       NEW SECTION.   Sec. 7.  The legislature finds that the practices
21   covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public
22   interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act,
23   chapter 19.86 RCW. A violation of this chapter is not reasonable in
24   relation to the development and preservation of business and is an
25   unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of
26   competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act,
27   chapter 19.86 RCW.


28       NEW SECTION.     Sec. 8.    Sections 1   through   7   of   this   act
29   constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.


30       NEW SECTION.    Sec. 9.    If any provision of this act or its
31   application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
32   remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other
33   persons or circumstances is not affected.




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1   NEW SECTION.   Sec. 10.   This act takes effect January 1, 2027.

                               --- END ---




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