Age Gates for AI: New York AI Law Requires Age Checks for All Chatbot Users

New York's AI Age Gate law, signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Oct. 28, bans certain AI companion features for minors and mandates that companies verify the age of every user before granting access to covered chatbot systems. For website owners who embed third‑party chatbots or host AI‑driven comment moderators, this legislation means any visitor interacting with those bots must be age‑checked in real time, regardless of whether the content is overtly “adult” or “erotica.” Failure to implement a compliant verification flow could expose sites to civil penalties and force removal of the offending AI service. Moreover, the law expands the definition of “covered chatbot systems” to include any conversational AI that offers companionship, advice, or emotional support, so even generic help‑desk bots may fall under its scope. **Actionable steps:** 1. Integrate an age‑verification layer (e.g., date‑of‑birth entry with third‑party age‑check APIs) before initializing any chatbot widget and log the verification outcome in your analytics. 2. Update your llms.txt file to declare the age‑gate requirement, adding a `#age-check: required` directive for each bot URL, enabling crawlers and compliance tools to recognize the restriction. 3. Regularly audit embedded scripts for hidden AI companions and configure server‑side blocks that refuse bot sessions lacking a verified age token.