California lawmakers weighed SB 903 to keep AI therapy under licensed-professional review.
AP reported that California's Senate Bill 903 would ban companies from advertising chatbots as therapy, prohibit AI from making therapeutic decisions without licensed-professional review, and require disclosure and consent before AI is used to record therapy sessions or triage mental-health care. The official bill text, amended July 2, says AI may assist with administrative or supplementary support in psychotherapy services but restricts companion-chatbot therapy claims and unreviewed therapeutic decisions.
Verified 2:15 PM PDT · 2 original sources
The bill is not final law, and implementation would have to distinguish clinical therapy from general wellness, peer support, religious counseling and FDA-cleared tools. The harder problem is that consumer chatbot behavior is already moving faster than state-by-state clinical oversight.
Assembly amendments, licensing-board enforcement language, industry lobbying, interaction with California's existing chatbot laws, and whether federal health regulators or other states copy the psychotherapy-specific structure.
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- Associated PressCalifornia lawmakers try to set limits on AI 'therapists' ↗
- California LegislatureSB-903 Mental health professionals: artificial intelligence ↗
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