Operators — any person, partnership, association, firm or business entity, or any member, affiliate, subsidiary or beneficial owner of one, who operates or provides an AI companion to a user in Rhode Island. An "AI companion" simulates a sustained human or human-like relationship by retaining prior-interaction information to personalize engagement, asking unprompted emotion-based questions beyond direct responses, and sustaining ongoing dialogue on matters personal to the user — all three conjunctively (§ 6-63-1(1)(i)). Excluded: pure customer-service or product-information systems, systems primarily designed and marketed for efficiency improvements or research or technical assistance, and systems used solely for internal or employee-productivity purposes (§ 6-63-1(1)(ii))
upcominghigh-impact
Structured as a gate on operation, not a best-efforts duty: it is unlawful to operate or provide the companion at all unless the protocol is built in. Rhode Island's definition is narrower than California SB 243's reasonable-person test — the three limbs in § 6-63-1(1)(i) are conjunctive, so a system that never asks unprompted emotion-based questions falls outside the chapter. But the protocol scope is broader on one axis: it reaches threatened physical harm to others (§ 6-63-2(a)(2)), which California does not cover.
Requirements
Requirement
Details
Protocol as a precondition to operating
Unlawful for an operator to operate or provide an AI companion to a user unless the companion contains a protocol addressing the matters below (§ 6-63-2(a))
Suicidal ideation and self-harm
The protocol must address possible suicidal ideation or self-harm expressed by a user to the AI companion (§ 6-63-2(a)(1))
Threats of harm to others
The protocol must address possible physical harm to others expressed by a user to the AI companion (§ 6-63-2(a)(2))
Crisis referral on detection
When any such expression is made, notify the user with a referral to crisis service providers such as a suicide hotline, crisis text line, or other appropriate crisis services, as soon as the expression is detected (§ 6-63-2(a)(3))
Penalties
Violation
Fine
Any violation of the chapter
Civil penalties up to $15,000 per day, with fines directed to suicide prevention programs (§ 6-63-4(b))
Enforcement powers
The Attorney General may investigate, sue, and seek injunctions against noncompliant operators (§ 6-63-4(a))
Operators of AI companions used by users within Rhode Island (§§ 6-63-1(6), 6-63-1(8))
upcoming
Unconditional and age-blind, unlike California SB 243, where the opening disclosure turns on a reasonable-person test and the three-hour repeat applies only to known minors. Rhode Island requires both the opening notice and the three-hour repeat for every user, which makes it a session-flow design constraint rather than a copy change. The notice may be verbal or written, so voice-first products are covered without a screen.
Requirements
Requirement
Details
Opening notification
Provide a clear and conspicuous notification to the user at the beginning of any AI companion interaction stating that the user is not communicating with a human (§ 6-63-3)
Three-hour repeat
Repeat the notification at least every three hours for continuing AI companion interactions (§ 6-63-3)
Verbal or written
The notification may be delivered either verbally or in writing (§ 6-63-3)
Penalties
Violation
Fine
Any violation of the chapter
Civil penalties up to $15,000 per day, directed to suicide prevention programs; AG investigation, suit, and injunction (§ 6-63-4)
Operators of AI companions used by users within Rhode Island (§ 6-63-1(6))
upcoming
The statute fixes the reporting floor — activation counts — and leaves "related metrics" undefined, so the reportable set is whatever the Attorney General's office asks for; there is no rulemaking grant in the chapter to constrain that. Because the AG must publish aggregated data, the counts become a public dataset comparable across operators, which is the same disclosure dynamic as California's Office of Suicide Prevention reports.
Requirements
Requirement
Details
Annual report
Beginning 2027-07-01, file annual reports with the Office of the Attorney General (§ 6-63-2(b))
Activation counts
Reports must include the number of safety protocol activations and related metrics (§ 6-63-2(b))
Public aggregation
The Office of the Attorney General publishes aggregated data on its website (§ 6-63-2(b))
Penalties
Violation
Fine
Any violation of the chapter
Civil penalties up to $15,000 per day, directed to suicide prevention programs; AG investigation, suit, and injunction (§ 6-63-4)
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