Where a user is a minor, or a company has not confirmed they are an adult, the chatbot faces restrictions. It cannot pretend to be a real person, to be alive or to have human emotions. The law also bans unprompted emotional questions and the use of a child's private health or personal details from earlier conversations, plus promoting or assisting with suicide, self harm, eating disorders or drug and alcohol use. Chatbots may not encourage children to keep secrets, isolate themselves or avoid asking parents, trusted adults or professionals for help.

The public will be able to file complaints through a website run by the state attorney general. Violators face civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, plus damages, restitution and other relief, and may have to delete unlawfully collected data along with any models trained on it. The law takes effect in six months.

Hochul framed the rules as a follow-up to the state's Safe for Kids Act, saying minors will no longer have access to chatbots that pose as friends or romantic partners or discourage children from seeking licensed professional help. Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, called it the strongest kids' AI safety bill in the country and suggested it could serve as a template for other states.

Hochul also signed a companion law requiring internet-connected baby monitors sold in New York to prevent unauthorised users from seeing or hearing what the devices capture, with warning labels about unsecured connections. That law takes effect in 90 days.