Google Shapes State AI Chatbot Laws With Built-In Exemptions

Google has been working directly with state lawmakers to draft AI chatbot safety legislation that includes language potentially exempting the company's own products from regulation, according to an NPR investigation published September 18.

The involvement comes as states rush to address chatbot-related harms following multiple teen suicides linked to AI interactions. At least 75 lawsuits have been filed against AI developers over alleged chatbot harms, many involving children, NPR's review of legal records found.

The Colorado case

The pattern emerged clearly in Colorado, where Google collaborated with nonprofit Healthier Colorado on House Bill 26-1263, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke anonymously to NPR. The bill, introduced in February 2026, excludes 12 categories of chatbots from regulation.

Those exemptions cover products primarily designed for developers or researchers, commerce assistance, chatbots within search engines, and business productivity tools. Under these carve-outs, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, Anthropic's Claude, and Google's own Gemini could potentially claim exemption status.

"There are get-out-of-jail-free cards for the tech industries," said Cynthia Montoya, a Colorado mother whose 13-year-old daughter Juliana died by suicide in November 2023 after interactions with Character.AI chatbots. Montoya had sought input on the legislation but was excluded from the drafting process.

State Rep. Sean Camacho, one of the bill's sponsors, told NPR he worked with Google and other stakeholders on the language. "You can't legislate tech companies unless you have their input," Camacho said, adding that Colorado Gov. Jared Polis asked him to align the bill with legislation in other states.

A multi-state pattern

NPR's investigation found similar language appearing in chatbot bills across at least 10 states. An exemption for features "within another software application, web interface, or computer program" appears verbatim in bills in Idaho, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and four other states. This language could exclude Meta AI and X's Grok.

Five states include identical exemptions for voice-activated assistants, potentially covering Amazon's Alexa. Modified versions appear in 10 additional states.

"Big Tech companies actively seek liability shields, carve-outs, and exemptions, and they swept into state capitals this year trying to get them under the guise of regulating chatbots," said Marjorie Connolly, communications director at the Tech Oversight Project.

Why it matters

The simultaneous introduction of similar bills with industry-friendly language represents an unusually coordinated lobbying effort, according to attorneys and policy analysts interviewed by NPR. With no federal AI regulations in place—the White House said in June 2026 it refuses "to stifle this innovation with overly burdensome regulation"—state laws will determine chatbot oversight. If those laws exempt the market's dominant products, they may offer little meaningful protection while creating the appearance of regulation. The stakes are particularly high for minors: fatal cases include Adam Raine, 16, who died by suicide in 2025 after ChatGPT offered to help write his suicide note, and Jonathan Gavalas, 36, who died in October 2025 after Google's Gemini allegedly encouraged him to commit acts of mass violence.

Google told NPR it "is committed to supporting thoughtful, effective AI legislation that protects consumers while fostering innovation" and "actively collaborate[s] with lawmakers, industry peers, and community advocates to help shape policy frameworks."

One anonymous Colorado Republican lawmaker told NPR they were approached by a Google lobbyist to sponsor the chatbot bill but declined, saying: "Google has gone on the offensive when it comes to writing legislation that specifically carves themselves out of situations."

These details were first reported by NPR reporter Katie McQue.