AB 1609

AB1609:v96#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1609

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.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1609, as amended, Zbur. Customer service chatbots.

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.

This bill would prohibit a large private business, as defined, from representing that a customer service chatbot is a human. The bill would also require the large private business to provide certain disclosures if a reasonable person interacting with the chatbot would be misled to believe they are interacting with a human.

The bill would require a large private business to provide customers with human customer service support and communications within 15 minutes of requesting human customer service. This bill would require a large private business to provide a customer service feature allowing consumers to contact a customer service agent for at least 10 hours per day during its regular business hours and to make a good faith effort to connect a customer to an agent within 15 minutes after a request for human customer service is made, as specified. The bill would impose certain specific requirements on large private businesses, For online chatbot customer service platforms and telephonic customer service platforms, the bill would require a large private business to make a good faith effort to ensure the customers who require customer service assistance and that the business comply with specified requirements including, among others, limiting initial and cumulative telephonic hold times, and would require certain large private businesses to post prescribed contact information on their internet website.

The bill would authorize a public prosecutor to enforce these provisions, and would make a large private business that violates these provisions liable for a penalty of up to $10,000. $5,000 for an initial violation, and $10,000 for each subsequent violation. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to adopt regulations for these purposes, as specified. The bill would waive its requirements due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the reasonable control of a large private business, and would exempt a large private business that provides services subject to, and is in compliance with, a specified public utilities law. The bill would further exempt exclusive business lines and communications by a nonprofit general acute care hospital, as specified. The bill would define terms for these purposes.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Chapter 22.6.1 (commencing with Section 22625) is added to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:

CHAPTER 22.6.1. Customer Service Chatbots

22625.

As used in this chapter:

(a) “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.

(b) (1)“Customer” means a natural person residing in California. California.

(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), “residence” refers to the customer’s account address.

(c) “Customer service agent” means a natural person who, as an employee, contractor, or representative of the large private business provides either of the following:

(1) Direct customer service, including service to prospective and existing customers, relating to the sale and delivery of goods and services.

(2) Direct customer support, including technical assistance functions relating to the sale and delivery of goods and services.

(d) “Customer service chatbot” means an artificial intelligence system with a natural language interface that provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs and is used by an entity for any of the following purposes:

(1) Direct customer service, including service to prospective and existing customers, relating to the sale or delivery of goods or services.

(2) Direct customer support, including technical assistance functions relating to the sale or delivery of goods or services.

(e) “Exclusive business lines” means telephone lines, chat lines, or other communications channels that are not intended for general consumer use and are intended solely for use by employees of the business as it pertains to employee or employer issues and not for a consumer line dedicated to employees, or for exclusive use by any vendors of the business, or any business to business lines that are used exclusively for matters pertaining to a contract and not in their capacity as a consumer of the business.

(e)

(f) “Large private business” means a business with more than five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) in gross annual revenue nationally that provides goods and services to consumers.

(g) “Nonprofit general acute care hospital” means a health facility licensed pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code that is organized and operated as a nonprofit corporation exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.(h) “Online customer service platforms” means operators that primarily operate on public-facing internet websites, web applications, or digital applications, including a social network or publication and may not offer telephonic means of communication for customer service inquiries.(i) “Regular business hours” means the hours during which the business customarily maintains administrative, managerial, or customer-service functions, excluding on days that the business is ordinarily closed or state or federal holidays.

(f)

(j) “Services” means services for which a customer will provide or has provided monetary consideration, whether through a one-time payment, subscription, fee, or recurring charge. “Services” does not include services or parts of services that offer a free option to persons with an opportunity to pay, subscribe, or otherwise provide monetary consideration for the service or upgraded services at a future time.

(k) “Telephonic customer service platforms” means any operator that provides customer service to customers in California through telephonic means.

22626.

(a) A large private business shall not represent that a customer service chatbot is a human.

(b) A large private business 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.

(c) The disclosure required by subdivision (b) shall be clear and conspicuous, and provided in the medium in which the customer service chatbot interacts with the customer.

22627.

(a) (1)During at least the normal 10-hour period that comprises per day a large private business’s regular business hours, a large private business shall provide consumers who require customer assistance with goods or services offered or provided from the large private business with a clear and conspicuous customer service feature that allows customers to contact a customer service agent. During these times, a large private business shall make a good faith effort to connect a person interacting with a customer service chatbot, or a telephonic automated customer support system, to a customer service agent within fifteen 15 minutes after a request for human customer service is made.

(2)

If the customer requests a customer service agent under paragraph (1), the large private business shall do all of the following:

(b) For online chatbot customer service platforms, the large private business shall make a good faith effort to ensure that customers who require customer service assistance with goods or services offered or provided from the large private business are provided with all of the following:

(A)

(1) Provide a A simple method for customers to request human assistance through online platforms.

(B)

(2) Provide the customer with an An estimate of the time it will take to connect with a customer service agent.

(C)

(3) Allow the customer to choose to connect with the customer service agent as soon as feasible or to make an appointment to connect with the customer service agent at a later time. within 15 minutes, or, at the option of the business, given a customer the option to make an appointment to connect with a large private business’ customer service agent within:

(D)Allow the customer to choose whether to communicate with the customer service agent by text, email, or telephone.

(A) One hour of the customer request.(B) One hour of the start of the next business day, if a full hour day not remain in the current business day, or at a later time.(C) On an alternative day preferred by the consumer, at the consumer’s election.

(b)

(c) For telephonic customer service platforms, the large private business shall make a good faith effort to ensure that customers who require customer service assistance with goods or services offered or provided from the large private business are provided with all of the following:

(1)

(1) The The initial call is answered promptly and the customer is not placed on hold for more than 15 minutes at any point after the call is answered, and that cumulative hold times or escalation queues for a call not exceed more than one hour total.

(2)

(2) If a call is answered by a customer service chatbot, the customer is given the option to request a customer service agent and, upon that request, is provided human assistance within fifteen 15 minutes after the request is made.

(c)For online customer service platforms, the business shall ensure that a customer who requires customer service assistance with goods or services offered or provided from the large private business is given an option to request a customer service agent and, upon that request, the large private business shall make a good faith effort to provide human assistance within fifteen minutes after the request is made.

(3) A large private business may, but is not required to, give a customer the option to connect with the customer service agent at a later time receive make an appointment to receive a call with the large private customer service agent within:(A) One hour of the customer request, or within one hour of the start of the next business day, if a full hour does not remain in the current business day.(B) On an alternative day preferred by the consumer, at the consumer’s election.

(d)

(d) Large private businesses who provide goods and services to customers in California through online platforms and who have a telephonic customer service platform shall post their telephonic customer service telephone number clearly and conspicuously on their internet website.

22628.

(a) An action to enforce this chapter may be brought by a public prosecutor.

(b)

(b) (1) A large private business that violates this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation. violation, and ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each subsequent violation.

(c) For purposes of this chapter, the use of commercially reasonable and practicable standards that are designed and intended to achieve compliance shall satisfy the “good faith effort” requirements of Section 22627.

(c)

(d) This chapter does not establish a private right of action.

(d)The Attorney General may adopt regulations to further its purposes and may provide additional guidance regarding compliance.

(e)

(e) This chapter does not require an operator who, as of January 1, 2026, does not utilize any telephonic customer services to customers, to provide telephonic customer service provided that the operator offers customer service methods by which the customer may promptly connect with a customer service agent consistent with this section.

(f) A large private business’s inability to comply with this chapter because of unforeseen circumstances beyond its reasonable control does not constitute a violation of this chapter.

(g) This chapter does not apply to any of the following:

(f)

(1) This chapter shall not apply to services Services a large private business provides subject to, and in compliance with, General Order 133, Order 133, and in compliance with a corrective action plan, if any, Rules Governing Telecommunications Services of the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California.

(2) Exclusive business lines.(3) Nonprofit general acute care hospital, when those communications relate to the provision, coordination, management, administration, payment, or operation of health care services, including, but not limited to, patient care, clinical services, appointment scheduling, intake and registration, referrals, care coordination, patient navigation, emergency services, utilization management, prior authorization, discharge planning, follow-up care, billing, insurance, patient financial services, or other administrative or operational functions directly related to the delivery, payment, or coordination of health care services.

22629.

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 a large private business from any duties, remedies, or obligations imposed under any other law.