Seven states now ban AI therapy chatbots, and Pennsylvania’s medical board has taken a chatbot developer to court in what the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass., said appears to be the first such case under a medical practice act, according to a Nov. 9 report from Telehealth.org.
The actions reflect an expectation that a licensed human remain accountable for mental healthcare. But Petrie-Flom Center researchers argue that Pennsylvania’s case rests only on the chatbot’s claims of medical authority, while therapy-like conversation may already be crossing into the practice of medicine outside any licensing framework. Chatbots that deliver therapy-like care without claiming credentials remain largely unregulated, the report said.
Here are six things to know:
1. Colorado, Maine, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Vermont banned AI therapy chatbots in 2026, joining Illinois and Nevada, which adopted restrictions in 2025. Delaware and Oregon bar nonhuman entities from using professional titles, and Utah requires disclosure.
2. The Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine filed a complaint May 1 in Commonwealth Court alleging Character Technologies engaged in the unauthorized practice of medicine through “Emilie,” a persona presented as a “doctor of psychiatry.” The chatbot claimed a medical degree from Imperial College London, gave a fabricated Pennsylvania license number and logged about 45,500 user interactions.
3. A state investigator who described feeling sad, empty and unmotivated was told the chatbot could assess whether medication might help, according to an Epstein Becker Green summary of the complaint. Character Technologies said its characters are fictional, intended for entertainment and carry disclaimers in every chat.
4. California’s AB 1979, signed in September, requires licensed clinicians to exercise independent professional judgment when AI clinical decision support informs care and bars AI from independently performing licensed clinical functions, according to Holland & Knight. Most provisions take effect Jan. 1, 2027. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a separate bill restricting AI in psychotherapy.
5. Thirty-six states introduced more than 70 chatbot bills in the first quarter of 2026, and 20 states had enacted AI laws affecting healthcare by midyear, according to Holland & Knight.
6. Patients are already using the tools. In the American Psychological Association’s 2026 “Chatbots and Mental Health Survey,” 39% of psychologists said patients use AI to self-diagnose.
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