New York City developing human-handoff rule for customer-service chatbots

New York City is developing a rule that would require customer-service chatbot users to reach a person after an unspecified amount of interaction, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. If adopted, the proposal would establish a mandatory human-escalation path for automated customer service. The city has not said what would trigger the handoff or when the requirement would take effect.

Mamdani described the effort during an Oct. 5 press event, saying the administration was “in the process of developing a new rule”. He said the rule would require a user to be connected with a human who can answer their question after “a certain amount of interaction with a chatbot.”

The mayor did not define “a certain amount of interaction.” Available official material also does not say whether the trigger would be based on an interaction count, repeated failed requests or another condition. Nor does it identify the businesses that would be covered or say whether the rule would apply only to chatbots or more broadly to voice menus and other automated customer-service systems.

The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection describes the measure as proposed rules aimed at prohibiting certain deceptive or unconscionable customer-service practices associated with the growing use of automated systems. The department also says the proposal would clarify that using technology does not shield a person from liability for violations.

DCWP has scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 19, 2026, at 11 a.m. Eastern. The opened official sources do not specify an effective date, a compliance period, required availability or response time for human service, recordkeeping obligations, an enforcement process or penalties.