New York Wants to Ban AI Chatbots From Playing Doctor or Lawyer
A proposed New York bill would outlaw chatbots impersonating licensed professionals and let users sue violators.
New York legislators are taking aim at AI chatbots that pretend to be doctors, lawyers, and other licensed professionals. A bill under consideration would explicitly ban chatbots from impersonating these professionals and providing "substantive response, information, or advice" in their place.
The kicker: the proposed law includes a private right of action. That means regular people could directly sue chatbot owners who break the rules — no need to wait for a government agency to act.
It's one of the more aggressive state-level attempts to draw hard lines around what AI systems can and can't do in professional contexts. The bill targets the growing trend of chatbots confidently dispensing medical, legal, and other expert-level guidance without any actual credentials behind the curtain.
If passed, chatbot operators serving New York users would need to think carefully about guardrails — or face litigation.