ASSEMBLY, No. 5272
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED JUNE 15, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman CODY D. MILLER
District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes safety requirements for artificial intelligence companion operators.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning artificial intelligence companions and supplementing Title 56 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Artificial intelligence companion" or "AI companion" means a system using generative artificial intelligence designed to simulate a sustained human or human-like relationship with a user by: (1) retaining information from prior interactions, prior user sessions, or user preferences to personalize the interaction and to facilitate ongoing engagement with the AI companion; (2) asking unprompted or unsolicited emotion-based questions that go beyond a direct response to a user prompt; and (3) sustaining an ongoing dialogue concerning matters personal to the user.
"Artificial intelligence companion" does not include a software application, web interface, or computer program that: (1) is primarily designed and marketed for research and development purposes; (2) is a feature within another software application, web interface, or computer program that does not have the primary purpose of simulating human conversation and interaction through text, audio communication, or visual communication; (3) is designed to provide outputs relating to a narrow and discrete topic; (4) is primarily designed and marketed for commercial use by a business entity to assist customers in obtaining services or purchasing goods from the business entity; (5) functions as a speaker and voice command interface or voice-activated virtual assistant for an electronic device widely available to consumers; or (6) is used by a business entity solely for internal purposes.
"Generative artificial intelligence" means a technology system that: (1) is trained on data; (2) is designed to simulate human communication through text, audio, or visual communication; and (3) generates non-scripted outputs with limited or no human oversight.
"Human or human-like relationship" includes, but is not limited to, intimate, romantic, or platonic interactions or companionship, and the simulation of intimate, romantic, or platonic interactions or companionship.
"Licensed mental health professional" means an individual licensed or otherwise authorized to practice a profession licensed or regulated by the Alcohol and Drug Counselor Committee, the State Board of Creative Arts and Activities Therapies, the State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, the State Board of Medical Examiners, the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee, the Certified Psychoanalysts Advisory Committee, the State Board of Psychological Examiners, the State Board of Social Work Examiners, the New Jersey Board of Nursing, or any other
entity created hereafter under Title 45 to license or otherwise regulate a profession that provides mental health care.
"Minor" means an individual an operator knows is, or is reasonably certain is, under 18 years of age.
"Operator" means any individual, partnership, association, firm, or business entity, or any member, affiliate, subsidiary or beneficial owner of any partnership, association, firm, or business entity who operates for or provides an AI companion to a user. "Operator" does not include a mobile device application store or a search engine solely because the mobile device application store or search engine provides access to an AI companion.
"Sexually explicit conduct" has the same meaning as defined in 18 U.S.C. s.2256.
"User" means any individual who uses an AI companion for personal use within the State and who is not an operator or agent or affiliate of the operator of the AI companion.
"Visual depiction" has the same meaning as defined in 18 U.S.C. s.2256.
2. a. An operator shall institute reasonable measures to prevent the operator's AI companion from generating interactions that would lead a reasonable individual to believe that the individual is interacting with a human, including but not limited to:
(1) explicit claims that the AI companion is sentient or human;
(2) statements that simulate emotional dependence on a minor user; and
(3) statements that simulate romantic interaction or sexual innuendo, including but not limited to role-playing an adult-minor romantic relationship.
b. Where it is foreseeable that an AI companion may generate interactions that would lead a reasonable individual interacting with the AI companion to believe that the individual is interacting with a human, the operator of the AI companion shall clearly and conspicuously disclose that the operator's AI companion is generative artificial intelligence using:
(1) a persistent visible disclaimer; or
(2) a disclaimer that appears after every three hours of continuous interaction with the operator's AI companion.
3. a. An operator shall adopt protocols for when the operator's AI companion responds to user prompts regarding suicidal ideation or self-harm that includes, but is not limited to, making reasonable efforts to refer the user to crisis service providers including, but not limited to, a suicide hotline or crisis text line.
b. An operator shall not knowingly or intentionally cause or program an AI companion to make a representation or statement that would lead a reasonable individual to believe that the AI companion is able to act as a licensed mental health professional.
4. Where an operator knows or has cause to know that a minor user is interacting with the operator's AI companion, the operator shall:
a. clearly and conspicuously disclose to the minor user that the minor user is interacting with generative artificial intelligence through:
(1) a constantly visible disclaimer that the operator's AI companion is generative artificial intelligence; or
(2) a disclaimer that the operator's AI companion is generative artificial intelligence that appears:
(a) at the beginning of each interaction between the operator's AI companion and a minor user; and
(b) at least once every three hours of continuous interaction between the operator's AI companion and a minor user;
b. not provide a minor user with points or similar rewards at unpredictable intervals with the intent to encourage increased engagement with the operator's AI companion;
c. institute reasonable measures to prevent the operator's AI companion from:
(1) producing visual depictions of sexually explicit material;
(2) stating that the minor user should engage in sexually explicit conduct; and
(3) sexually objectifying the minor user;
d. offer tools for minor users to manage the minor user's privacy and account settings; and
e. offer tools for the parent or guardian of a minor user to manage the minor user's privacy and account settings, if the minor user is under 13 years of age.
5. a. An operator that violates the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be subject to actual damages, injunctive relief, and a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per violation, with the total civil penalty not to exceed $500,000 per operator, to be collected in a civil action by a summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.) pursuant to this section.
b. This section shall not be construed to create a private right of action under P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) or any other provision of law.
c. A developer of a generative artificial intelligence model shall not be liable under this section solely because a third party used the developer's generative artificial intelligence model to create or train an artificial intelligence companion.
6. The provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be severable, and if any of its provisions shall be held to be unconstitutional, the decision of the court shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
7. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires an operator of an artificial intelligence (AI) companion to enact user safety policies. Under the bill, an operator of an AI companion is required to provide clear and conspicuous notification to a user continuously or periodically throughout, any AI companion interaction that the user is not communicating with a human if a reasonable individual interacting with the AI companion would believe that the individual is interacting with a human, and adopt protocols for when the operator's AI companion responds to user prompts regarding suicidal ideation or self-harm. An operator is also prohibited from knowingly or intentionally causing or programming an AI companion to make a representation or statement that would lead a reasonable individual to believe that the AI companion is able to act as a licensed mental health professional, as that term is defined in the bill.
The bill also requires an operator to implement additional protections for users of an AI companion who are minors. The bill provides that an operator found in violation of the provisions of the bill is to be subject to actual damages, injunctive relief, and a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per violation, with the total civil penalty not to exceed $500,000 per operator.