Missouri's legislature adjourned sine die on May 15 and sent one notable AI bill with it. SB 1019 modifies several provisions relating to health care, including a prohibition on the offering of AI therapy chatbots. Advertising an AI chatbot as capable of offering therapy services, a mental health diagnosis, or representing itself as a mental health professional is subject to a $10,000 fine for first offense and $20,000 for second and following offenses. The law would be enforced by the attorney general.

The bill is not narrowly targeted. Individuals or companies that develop AI or make it available to the public would be barred from advertising their product as a mental health professional or capable of providing therapy or mental health diagnoses. That language reaches app developers, API resellers, and anyone putting a chatbot in front of a user with language that sounds clinical — not just dedicated mental health platforms.

The broader wave behind the bill

Missouri is not acting alone. The Future of Privacy Forum is currently tracking 98 chatbot-specific bills across 34 states, as well as three federal proposals. State lawmakers in 2026 are shifting from comprehensive AI bills toward targeted chatbot regulations, focusing on child safety, disclosure requirements, and professional services.

The professional licensure category is where liability concentrates. These bills directly target the $2.4 billion AI mental health solutions market, which Mordor Intelligence projects will reach $9.96 billion by 2031. Companies like Wysa, which holds FDA Breakthrough Device designation, and platforms like Woebot Health face a market where the core product — AI-delivered mental health support — may be illegal in a growing number of states unless a licensed professional is in the loop.

Illinois and Nevada have already prohibited AI from practicing mental health services independently. Vermont banned therapy bots in the same legislative cycle. And the June 5 update from the Transparency Coalition confirmed that Illinois lawmakers sent five AI bills to Governor Pritzker prior to adjourning, while California legislators moved 30 AI bills forward in second-chamber committees, and AI bills appear to be finally moving in New York and Rhode Island.

Meanwhile, a New York bill that would go further than Missouri's approach — S 1169, which would regulate the development and use of certain artificial intelligence systems to prevent algorithmic discrimination and require independent audits of high-risk AI systems — was approved by the Senate on June 3 and delivered to the Assembly.

The federal escape hatch is mostly closed

The standard playbook for an industry facing a 50-state patchwork is to get Washington to preempt it. That path is narrower than usual here. The practical implication for AI companies is stark. Federal preemption — the traditional escape valve for industries facing a patchwork of state regulations — is largely off the table for this category of legislation. Companies cannot lobby Washington to override state chatbot safety rules the way they might contest data privacy frameworks.

The Trump executive order maintains that federal efforts will not preempt state authority in areas such as child safety. Mental health chatbot bans have been drafted with that carve-out in mind. The bills that do target children or clinical harm have, by design, landed in the zone Washington said it would leave alone.

For small business operators — the solo founder building a wellness app, the therapy practice testing an intake chatbot, the SaaS team embedding a mental health FAQ feature — the compliance math is getting harder to ignore. If your chatbot provides emotional support, recommends coping strategies, or uses language associated with therapeutic practice, you are in the crosshairs of the professional licensure bills. Either partner with licensed professionals, obtain FDA clearance, or restructure your product positioning to stay clearly on the administrative side of the clinical line that Maine, Missouri, and other states are drawing.

SB 1019 now sits with Governor Kehoe. Missouri's session has ended, so there is no further amendment possible before he acts.