New York just drew the hardest line yet around AI companions. Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new law on October 28, 2026 that stops AI chatbots from acting like friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, or authority figures for anyone under 18. It is being called the strongest kids' AI safety bill in the country — and it could reshape how every chatbot talks to young users.
What the law actually bans
For users under 18, chatbots in New York may no longer produce anything that could leave a young user believing the AI is human, alive, or experiences human emotions. They also cannot frame their output as a personal opinion, or suggest a personal or professional relationship with the user. In practice, that means no more AI friends or AI partners for minors — and chatbot operators such as OpenAI's ChatGPT must verify users' ages and switch off those traits for under-18 accounts.
Why now
The law lands after a wave of concern about AI companions and teenagers. Companion apps have exploded in popularity, and lawmakers in several US states, including California, have already passed chatbot restrictions. New York's version goes further than most, which is why it is drawing the sharpest reaction from both sides.
The backlash — and the applause
Tech industry group Tech:NYC criticized the law's vague language and warned that keeping kids safe should not mean cutting young people off from tools that help them learn and prepare for careers. OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment. On the other side, Common Sense Media celebrated the bill's passage, with CEO Jim Steyer calling it the strongest kids' AI safety bill in the country and saying the harmful companion features will be outlawed in New York.
Why it matters
This is the first big test of whether AI regulation will treat companion chatbots as a distinct risk category. If New York's approach holds up, expect other states — and other countries — to copy it, and expect chatbot makers to build age-aware modes by default rather than as an afterthought. For parents, it is a rare piece of good news in the AI safety debate: the chatbot your teenager talks to will soon have to be honest about being a machine.
Take: AI companions felt inevitable and unregulated a year ago. New York just proved the guardrails are coming — and they are arriving faster than the industry expected.
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