Laws & Statutes › VT › VT-H-0783
H-0783
VT · State · USA
VT
USA
● Pre-filed
Proposed Effective Date
2026-07-01
Vermont H.783 — An act relating to chatbot disclosure requirements
Requires any person engaged in a commercial transaction or trade practice with a consumer in Vermont to disclose clearly and conspicuously when the consumer is communicating with a chatbot rather than a human, if the chatbot could mislead a reasonable person into believing they are interacting with a human. The disclosure obligation is conditional — it triggers only when the chatbot is capable of misleading a reasonable person, regardless of whether any actual consumer is in fact misled. Violations constitute unfair and deceptive acts in commerce under Vermont's Consumer Protection Act (9 V.S.A. § 2453), enforceable by the Attorney General. The bill is notable for its brevity and broad definition of 'chatbot,' which encompasses AI agents, avatars, and any automated system simulating interpersonal interaction across text, audio, image, or video modalities.
Passage Likelihood
Medium
Chamber No passage
Committee No action
Majority party Yes
Bipartisan Yes
Prior session None
Legislative History
2026-01-27 committee referral Read first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development
Mapped Requirements
T-01 AI Identity Disclosure
Official Sources
Full Text ↗
Entry Last Reviewed
2026-03-28
AI generated
Summary

Requires any person engaged in a commercial transaction or trade practice with a consumer in Vermont to disclose clearly and conspicuously when the consumer is communicating with a chatbot rather than a human, if the chatbot could mislead a reasonable person into believing they are interacting with a human. The disclosure obligation is conditional — it triggers only when the chatbot is capable of misleading a reasonable person, regardless of whether any actual consumer is in fact misled. Violations constitute unfair and deceptive acts in commerce under Vermont's Consumer Protection Act (9 V.S.A. § 2453), enforceable by the Attorney General. The bill is notable for its brevity and broad definition of 'chatbot,' which encompasses AI agents, avatars, and any automated system simulating interpersonal interaction across text, audio, image, or video modalities.

Enforcement & Penalties
Enforcement Authority
Enforcement through the Vermont Consumer Protection Act (9 V.S.A. § 2453). The Attorney General has enforcement authority under the Consumer Protection Act. No designated private right of action is created by this bill; enforcement is agency-initiated through the Attorney General's existing UDAP authority.
Penalties
Violations are classified as unfair and deceptive acts in commerce under 9 V.S.A. § 2453, subjecting violators to the full range of remedies available under Vermont's Consumer Protection Act, including injunctive relief, civil penalties, and restitution as determined by the Attorney General or a court. Specific penalty amounts are governed by the existing Consumer Protection Act framework rather than this bill.
Who Is Covered
What Is Covered
"chatbot" means any artificial intelligence, algorithmic, or automated system that generates information via text, audio, image, or video in a manner that simulates interpersonal interactions or conversation. "Chatbot" includes artificial intelligence agents, avatars, or other computer technology that engages in textual or aural conversations.
Compliance Obligations 1 obligation · click obligation ID to open requirement page
T-01 AI Identity Disclosure · T-01.1 · Deployer · Chatbot
9 V.S.A. § 2466e(a)-(c)
Plain Language
Any person using a chatbot in a commercial transaction or trade practice with a consumer must provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer is communicating with a chatbot, not a human — but only if the chatbot could mislead a reasonable person into thinking they are interacting with a human. The trigger is objective: it does not matter whether any particular consumer was actually misled. If the chatbot clearly presents as non-human and could not deceive a reasonable person, no disclosure is required. Failure to disclose constitutes an unfair and deceptive act under Vermont's Consumer Protection Act, exposing the violator to the full remedial framework of that statute.
Statutory Text
(a) No person shall engage in a commercial transaction or trade practice with a consumer in which the consumer is communicating or otherwise interacting with a chatbot that may mislead or deceive a reasonable person to believe the person is engaging with an actual human, whether or not any consumer is in fact misled or deceived, unless the consumer is notified in a clear and conspicuous manner that the consumer is communicating with a chatbot and not an actual human being. (c) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section commits an unfair and deceptive act in commerce in violation of section 2453 of this title.