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<ns0:Id>20250AB__160998AMD</ns0:Id>
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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-01-20</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:ActionDate>2026-03-19</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Zbur</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Name>Zbur</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title>An act to add Chapter 22.6.1 (commencing with Section 22625) to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to artificial intelligence.</ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>artificial intelligence</ns0:RelatingClause>
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<ns0:Subject>Customer service chatbots.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law prohibits a person from using a bot, as defined, to mislead another person about the bot’s artificial identity to incentivize the purchase or sale of goods or services, among other things. Existing law requires an operator of a companion chatbot, as defined, to provide a disclosure regarding the companion chatbot’s artificial identity if a reasonable person interacting with the companion chatbot would be misled to believe that the person is interacting with a human.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would prohibit an operator of a customer service chatbot available to a person in this state from representing that a customer service chatbot is a human. The bill would
also require the operator to provide certain disclosures if a reasonable person interacting with the chatbot would be misled to believe they are interacting with a human.</html:p>
<html:p>The bill would require an operator of a large online business, as specified, to provide consumers with human customer service support and communications within 5 minutes of requesting human customer service. The bill would impose certain specific requirements on telephonic customer service platforms and online customer service platforms. The bill would require certain operators to offer a telephonic customer service platform and post prescribed contact information on their website.</html:p>
<html:p>The bill would require an operator to establish and maintain a process for complaints regarding the customer’s inability to obtain assistance from a customer service agent. The bill would authorize the Attorney General or a district attorney to enforce these provisions, and
would make an entity that engages in a pattern or practice of violating these provisions liable for a penalty of up to $10,000. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to adopt regulations for these purposes, as specified. The bill would waive its requirements during a state of emergency or extraordinary circumstances, as specified. The bill would define terms for these purposes.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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Chapter 22.6.1 (commencing with Section 22625) is added to Division 8 of the
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, to read:
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<ns0:Num>22.6.1.</ns0:Num>
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<ns0:LawHeadingText>Customer Service Chatbots</ns0:LawHeadingText>
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<ns0:Num>22625.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>As used in this chapter:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Artificial intelligence” means an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Complaint” means any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction relating to an operator’s compliance with this chapter, including the inability to connect with a human representative when requested.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Customer service agent” means a natural person who, as an employee, contractor, or representative of the operator who provides either
of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Direct customer service, including service to prospective and existing customers, relating to the sale and delivery of goods and services.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Direct customer support, including technical assistance functions relating to the sale and delivery of goods and services.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Customer service chatbot” means either of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
An artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs and is used by an entity solely for any of the following purposes:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Direct customer service, including service to prospective and existing customers, relating to the sale or delivery of goods or services.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
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Direct customer support, including technical assistance functions relating to the sale or delivery of goods or services.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A stand-alone consumer electronic device that functions as a speaker and voice command interface, acts as a voice-activated virtual assistant, and sustains a relationship across multiple interactions or generate outputs to service customers relating to the sale or delivery of goods and services.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(e)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
“Extraordinary or emergency situations” mean conditions posing an imminent threat to public safety, including severe weather, wildfire risk, statewide or local grid emergencies, widespread information technology or telecom outages, and any deenergization conducted pursuant to the California Public Utilities Commission’s authority under Section 451 and subdivision (a) of Section 399.2 of the Public Utilities Code, such as Public Safety
Power Shutoff events.
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<html:p>
(f)
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“Operator” means an entity with more than five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) in gross annual revenue nationally that makes a customer service chatbot available to a person in the state.
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<ns0:Num>22626.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
An operator of a large private business shall not represent that any artificial intelligence, automated customer service system, or customer service chatbot is a human.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
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An operator that makes a customer service chatbot available to a person in this state shall provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the customer service chatbot is artificially generated and not human if a reasonable person interacting with the customer service chatbot would be misled to believe that the person is interacting with a human.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The disclosure required by subdivision (b) shall do all the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Inform the
person that they are interacting with a customer service chatbot, artificial intelligence system, or similar automated system, and that the system is not a human being.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For audio-only or voice-based interfaces, be provided in an audible form and repeated upon the person’s request.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Be readily accessible throughout the customer interaction.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Be presented in plain language that is understandable to an ordinary consumer.
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<ns0:LawSection id="id_B879C889-E980-4BEE-AFE1-C93B242EEC57">
<ns0:Num>22627.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
During the business hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, an operator of a large private business who provide goods and services to consumers in California shall provide consumers with human customer service support and communications. During these times, an operator shall connect a person interacting with a customer service chatbot, or automated customer support system, to a customer service agent within five minutes after a request for human customer service is made.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
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For telephonic customer service platforms, the business shall ensure all of the following:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
That a customer call be answered quickly and, after the call is answered, that a customer is not placed on hold
for more than 5 minutes at any point after the call is answered, and that cumulative hold times for a call not exceed more than 10 minutes total.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
If a call is answered by a customer service chatbot, the operator of the telephonic platform shall provide human assistance within five minutes after the call is made.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For online customer service platforms, the business shall ensure that a customer is given option to request customer service assistance from a human being and, upon that request, the operator of the online platform shall provide human assistance within five minutes after the request is made.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Operators who provide goods and services to consumers in California through online platforms shall offer a telephonic customer service platform and post their telephonic customer service phone number
conspicuously on their website.
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<ns0:LawSection id="id_72A9195D-47B5-42A9-981C-8750CE1FF70B">
<ns0:Num>22628.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
An action to enforce this chapter may be brought by a district attorney or the Attorney General.
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<html:p>
(b)
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An entity that has engaged in a pattern or practice of violating this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
This chapter does not establish a private right of action.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Attorney General may adopt regulations, consistent with this chapter, to further its purposes and to provide additional guidance regarding compliance, including, but not limited to, guidance on the form and content of disclosures and reasonable mechanisms for
requesting human assistance.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(e)
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This chapter shall not be actionable or enforceable during extraordinary or emergency situations.
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<ns0:LawSection id="id_614317C4-28FA-4AFE-BE35-B0461F82C5BA">
<ns0:Num>22629.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>The duties, remedies, and obligations imposed by this chapter are cumulative to the duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under other law and shall not be construed to relieve an operator from any duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under any other law.</html:p>
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