HB 2031 establishes the “Children Harmed by AI Technology Act,” also called the “CHAT Act,” and regulates companion artificial intelligence chatbots offered in Missouri. The bill defines a companion AI chatbot as software designed primarily to simulate friendship, emotional interaction, companionship, or therapeutic communication, and it applies to any person or company that owns, operates, or makes such a chatbot available in the state.
The bill requires covered entities to create user accounts for anyone interacting with a companion chatbot, verify users’ ages through commercially available verification methods, and classify users as minors or adults. For existing accounts as of August 28, 2026, the bill requires the accounts to be frozen until age information is verified. If a user is a minor, the account must be linked to a verified parental account, parental consent must be obtained, and the minor must be blocked from chatbots that engage in sexually explicit or sexually suggestive communication. The bill also requires periodic pop-up notices telling users they are not speaking with a human, and it directs covered entities to limit collection and retention of age information to what is necessary for compliance.
The bill would also give the attorney general authority to issue compliance guidance, investigate violations, bring civil actions as parens patriae, and seek injunctions, damages, restitution, or other relief. A covered entity may avoid liability if it relied in good faith on user-provided age information, followed attorney general guidance, and conformed to widely accepted industry standards or best practices for age verification.
The bill’s impact would be to create a new state regulatory framework for AI chatbot providers, especially those offering emotionally interactive or companion-style systems. It would impose age-verification, parental-consent, disclosure, and recordkeeping obligations on businesses operating in Missouri, while also creating enforcement authority for the attorney general under a new section in Chapter 1, RSMo.
There is little recorded committee or floor debate in the provided materials, so the overall sentiment cannot be measured from votes or transcripts. Based on the bill’s caption and structure, it appears to be a child-protection measure aimed at limiting minors’ exposure to potentially harmful chatbot interactions, particularly sexually explicit or suggestive content. The main likely point of contention is the burden on AI companies and the practicality of age verification, parental consent, privacy protections, and compliance costs for platforms that provide companion-style AI services.
HB 2031 would add section 1.2047 to Chapter 1, RSMo, creating new state-law requirements for companion AI chatbots. It would require age verification, parental consent for minors, periodic disclosures that the user is not speaking with a human, confidentiality protections for age data, and attorney general enforcement authority. The bill would directly affect AI chatbot operators, platform providers, and users in Missouri, especially minors and their parents.
No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize. The bill’s caption and provisions suggest a protective, child-safety-oriented purpose, with the likely support coming from those concerned about minors’ interactions with AI chatbots and the likely skepticism coming from technology and privacy stakeholders concerned about implementation burdens and verification requirements.
The likely points of contention are the scope of the regulation and the feasibility of compliance. Supporters would emphasize protecting minors from sexually explicit or emotionally manipulative AI interactions and ensuring users know they are not talking to a human. Opponents or concerned stakeholders would likely focus on the cost and reliability of age verification, the need to collect and store sensitive personal information, the requirement for parental consent, and whether the bill could be difficult to implement for companies offering companion AI services.