CO HB26-1263 — Conversational Artificial Intelligence Service Operator Requirements

Summary

AI law Signed by Gov. Jared Polis on May 29, 2026 and effective January 1, 2027, Colorado HB26-1263 establishes baseline safety requirements for operators of "conversational AI services" — defined as AI systems accessible to the general public that primarily simulate human conversation through textual, visual, or aural communications — with enhanced duties for minor users specifically. Operators must regularly disclose to minor users that they are interacting with an AI system, not a human. They must implement reasonable steps to estimate whether a given user is under 18. They are prohibited from deploying features that gamify or reward continued engagement or that foster emotional dependence on the AI. Operators must take reasonable measures to prevent the generation of sexually explicit content for minor users. Finally, operators must maintain and implement written protocols to detect expressions of suicidal ideation or self-harm from minor users and respond appropriately — including referral or escalation mechanisms. Colorado passed HB26-1263 in the same session in which it repealed and replaced its broader algorithmic-discrimination law (SB 26-189, signed May 14, 2026), signaling a deliberate policy pivot: scale back omnibus high-risk-AI regulation while advancing narrow, harm-specific consumer-protection statutes that are more politically durable and less exposed to federal preemption pressure. Privacy law The age-estimation mandate compels operators to build user-detection workflows that identify minor users and subject that cohort to differential processing rules. Operators must determine whether a user is under 18 and maintain distinct data-handling and content-filtering workflows for that population, creating compliance obligations that intersect with COPPA (15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq.), California's Age-Appropriate Design Code line of enforcement, and the growing 2026 state-level children's privacy statutes.

AI-drafted · Attorney-reviewed