Washington
AI behavior law: bot and agent disclosure, crawler and training-data rules, automated-agent transactions, and algorithmic decision-making.
Summary
Washington enacted four AI-behavior laws in the 2025–2026 legislative session, making it one of the most active US states on AI regulation. The centerpiece is the Companion Chatbot Disclosure Act (HB 2225, effective January 1, 2027), which requires operators to disclose the non-human nature of AI companion chatbots at the start of every interaction and at one-hour intervals for minors. A complementary AI content provenance law (HB 1170, effective January 1, 2028) obligates large generative AI providers to embed watermark metadata in AI-created or materially altered media, and separately requires government agencies to disclose to consumers when they are interacting with an AI system. Automated decision-making in employment is regulated by SHB 1672 (effective July 1, 2026), which restricts employer use of AI monitoring tools, requires advance notice, and prohibits AI-generated predictions about employee emotions or personality from influencing employment decisions. Washington's Personality Rights Law was also expanded by SSB 5886 (effective June 11, 2026) to cover forged AI-generated digital likenesses. An AI Task Force reporting to the Attorney General released interim recommendations in December 2025 with a final report due July 2026, signaling further legislation is likely.
Enacted law
Government obligations
| Instrument | Category | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Content Provenance and Disclosure Act (E2SHB 1170, 2025–2026 session (codification pending)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2028-01-01 | Washington State Legislature (app.leg.wa.gov); Transparency Coalition (transparencycoalition.ai); DataGuidance (dataguidance.com) |
| Forged Digital Likeness Act (Personality Rights Amendment) (Wash. Rev. Code § 63.60 as amended by SSB 5886, 2025–2026 session) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2026-06-11 | Cooley (cooley.com); National Law Review (natlawreview.com) |
Private sector obligations
| Instrument | Category | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Content Provenance and Disclosure Act (E2SHB 1170, 2025–2026 session (codification pending)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2028-01-01 | Washington State Legislature (app.leg.wa.gov); Transparency Coalition (transparencycoalition.ai); DataGuidance (dataguidance.com) |
| Companion Chatbot Disclosure Act (Wash. Rev. Code § 19.86.093 (HB 2225, 2025–2026 session)) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2027-01-01 | National Law Review (natlawreview.com); Hunton Privacy Blog (hunton.com); app.leg.wa.gov |
| Employer AI and Electronic Monitoring Act (SHB 1672, 2025–2026 session (codification pending)) | Automated decision-making | 2026-07-01 | Williams Kastner (williamskastner.com); Washington State Legislature (app.leg.wa.gov) |
| Forged Digital Likeness Act (Personality Rights Amendment) (Wash. Rev. Code § 63.60 as amended by SSB 5886, 2025–2026 session) | Bot / agent disclosure | 2026-06-11 | Cooley (cooley.com); National Law Review (natlawreview.com) |
Drafted & in discussion
| Instrument | Status | Applies to | Category | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Consumer Protections Act (failed) (SB 6284, 2025–2026 session) | Dead / withdrawn | Both | Automated decision-making, Bot / agent disclosure | FastDemocracy (fastdemocracy.com); wa-law.org |
| Washington AI Task Force — Final Recommendations (pending legislation) (ESHB 1951 (2024) establishing task force; Final Report due July 1, 2026) | Proposed | Government | Automated decision-making, Bot / agent disclosure | Global Policy Watch (globalpolicywatch.com); Washington AG Office (atg.wa.gov) |
Automated-access legality
Carried forward from the crawler-law index. Governs whether automated clients may access public websites in this jurisdiction.
| Dimension | Value |
|---|---|
| Authorization test | technical gate |
| Public-page carve-out | yes |
| Terms-of-service browsewrap enforceable | notice dependent |
| Terms-of-service clickwrap enforceable | yes |
| Copyright exception model | fair use |
| Text and data mining — commercial status | unsettled |
| Text and data mining — opt-out mechanism | none |
| robots.txt legal weight | non binding notice |
| AI training-specific law | none |
| Privacy regime | My Health My Data Act (RCW 19.373) + Biometric Privacy Law (RCW 19.375) |
| Trespass to chattels | requires harm |
Last reviewed: 2026-05-23. Confidence: high. Fast-moving area — verify before relying. Not legal advice.