California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring large businesses to give customers a way to reach an actual person instead of leaving them trapped with an artificial intelligence chatbot.
“NEW: @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom just signed a law making it easier to reach an ACTUAL HUMAN for customer service,” the Governor’s Press Office announced. “People > AI robots.”
NEW: @CAGovernor Gavin Newsom just signed a law making it easier to reach an ACTUAL HUMAN for customer service.
People > AI robots
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) September 29, 2026
The Right to Human Customer Service Act (Assembly Bill 1609) applies to any large business ($500-plus million in annual revenue) that sells goods or services to California customers. The law does not ban automated customer service, but requires that companies inform a customer when they are engaged with a chatbot instead of a human. It also requires that companies allow customers to request a human agent and that they connect callers or chat users with a real person — or schedule a time to speak to a real person — if the request is made during regular business hours.
The law also directs companies to make a “good-faith effort” to prevent customers from being placed on hold for more than 15 minutes after reaching an agent.
“A little common sense goes a long way,” Newsom said. “Fewer loud commercials. Less time running in circles with customer service chatbots, fewer headaches — helping people doesn’t have to be complicated.”
Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood), who introduced the bill, said it was inspired partly by his experience trying to get medication for his mother during the pandemic.
“I spent hours on the phone trying to get medication for my immunocompromised mother,” Zbur said. “I eventually drove to the pharmacy drive-thru just to show them that I was still sitting on hold.”
Zbur added: “No one should have to go through that to get help for themselves or someone they love. AB 1609 is about restoring a basic level of dignity and accountability to customer service and making sure technology serves people — not the other way around.”
An earlier version of the bill drew opposition from the California Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business and technology groups, which labeled the requirements “vastly infeasible and onerous,” citing potentially rushed customer service workers, increased operating costs and security risks when agents are handling financial or identity questions.
“Rigid timing requirements could inadvertently push employees to prioritize speed over care, reducing empathy and service quality — an outcome none of us want,” the coalition wrote.
That version Newsom signed differed from the legislation that drew strong opposition — it changed a 5-minute deadline for connecting a customer with a person to a good-faith 15-minute target, with the option to arrange an appointment within one business day.