California Enacts AB 1609, Requiring Large Businesses to Disclose Customer Service Chatbots and Offer a Human

Assembly Bill 1609 was approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on September 28, 2026 as Chapter 733, Statutes of 2026, adding Business and Professions Code Chapter 22.6.1 (commencing with Section 22625). A large private business, defined as one with more than $500,000,000 in national gross annual revenue that provides goods and services to customers, may not represent that a customer service chatbot is a human and must disclose the chatbot where a reasonable person would be misled. It must also offer a way to reach a human agent during regular business hours, make a good-faith effort to connect a customer within 15 minutes of a request, and limit hold times. Public prosecutors enforce the chapter, with penalties of up to $5,000 for an initial violation and $10,000 for each subsequent violation. It carries no urgency clause or special operative date, so it takes effect January 1, 2027 under California's default rule for statutes enacted in a regular session. Chaptered text retrieved 2026-10-12.

Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov