As of January 1st, 2026, Assembly Bill 489 prohibits artificial intelligence systems from presenting themselves as doctors, nurses, or other licensed care providers.

In October 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 489, a law that would bar artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots from representing themselves as licensed health care professionals. The measure takes effect January 1, 2026.

AB 489 adds Chapter 15.5 (beginning with Section 4999.8) to the Business and Professions Code, making it unlawful for an AI system or generative AI technology to use terms, letters, or phrases that falsely imply it is a licensed practitioner, such as a doctor, nurse, psychologist, or other regulated health care provider. The law applies to entities that develop or deploy AI or generative AI technology that uses this language in advertising or functionality.

Existing law already makes it a crime for an unlicensed person to use specified words or phrases implying a health care license. AB 489 extends those prohibitions to AI systems and holds developers or deployers responsible when their technology employs prohibited terms or representations. Each use of a prohibited term or phrase by an AI system constitutes a separate violation, subject to enforcement by the appropriate health care profession board.

The bill was introduced on February 10, 2025, by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) and advanced through the Legislature before being chaptered as Chapter 615, Statutes of 2025, by the Secretary of State.

“This bill will ensure that AI systems do not misrepresent themselves as licensed health care professionals,” Assemblymember Bonta said when AB 489 was sent to the governor’s desk. “Californians deserve transparency when interacting with technology related to their health care.”

AB 489’s language references existing state law governing licensing boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs and expands enforcement to include AI technologies that create patient communications or services implying licensed practice. Violations fall under the jurisdiction of the office that regulates the relevant profession.

The law is among a broad set of measures taking effect in California in 2026, including numerous statutes affecting housing, workplace protections, consumer rights, and other AI-related rules outlined by the Governor’s office.