New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed S9051-B, the AI companion chatbot bill, on October 28, according to press reports. It adds Article 48 to the General Business Law and takes effect January 1, 2027. It passed the Senate 60 to 0, and its sponsor says it was developed with Attorney General Letitia James's office. The bill covers any generative AI system with a natural-language interface that gives ongoing, adaptive responses. An operator may not give a New York user any of 12 "unsafe AI companion features" unless the user is not a minor and the operator used a permissible method to determine that. The 12 include claiming to be human, implying a personal relationship or authority role, flattery or sycophancy, unprompted emotional questions, and using personal information from over twelve hours earlier. Chatbots are exempt when limited to customer service or information about a business's products, or to research or technical assistance, if they cannot respond outside that purpose. Systems used internally or for employee productivity are exempt. The attorney general can seek injunctions, restitution, damages and civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation. If your company offers a chat assistant to consumers in New York, check two things before January 1. First, scope: an assistant limited to customer service or product information, and unable to respond off topic, is exempt; one that can discuss anything is not. Second, behavior: the list includes flattery, personal opinions, claims of being human and unprompted emotional questions, which many general assistants do by default. Unless an age method shows users are adults, a covered assistant has to avoid all 12. A contract term shifting liability to users is void. Internal employee tools are exempt. The attorney general may issue rules, so details may shift. List every chat assistant New York consumers can reach and mark whether it can answer off-topic. New York S9051B bill text: The bill as amended: definitions of a covered AI companion and the 12 unsafe features, the exemptions in section 1801, enforcement and penalties, and the age-assurance rules in section 1804. PPC Land report on Hochul signing S9051-B: A trade-press account of the October 28 signing, the Senate and Assembly votes, the sponsors and the January 1, 2027 effective date. The bill text itself does not state the signing date.