FTC inquiry into AI companion chatbots

The FTC used its Section 6(b) authority, which lets the Commission study an industry without opening a specific law-enforcement case. The September 11, 2025 press release says the orders went to seven companies that provide consumer-facing AI chatbots: Alphabet, Character Technologies, Instagram, Meta Platforms, OpenAI, Snap, and xAI. The Commission voted 3-0 to issue them. The study asks how companies measure and monitor negative effects on children and teens, how they limit use by young people, how they tell users and parents about risks, and how they handle the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

A 6(b) study collects documents and answers. It is not a complaint, and it is not a published report of findings unless the FTC later releases one. As of September 26, 2026, the sources on this page are the launch announcement and the order materials, not a conclusion. Do not write FTC concluded.

Parents searching a brand name will find this inquiry next to the product. The fair reading is that the federal consumer agency is asking how companion-style chatbots affect minors. It is not a finding that a named company harmed a child, and it is not a finding that the category is safe.

Georgia's SB 540 and New York's companion rules are state statutes. This inquiry is federal process. They can be true at the same time. None of them is a substitute for reading the chat your own child is in.

These state laws are not copies of each other. A duty in Georgia may be missing in Tennessee, and a date in one state is not a date in the next. Whether Congress will override some of them is a live debate, described on the federal AI preemption page. Until a federal statute actually does that, read the state text that applies to you.

The FTC inquiry is a study of companion-style chatbots, not a set of findings. HeyOtto was not on the September 11, 2025 order list, and that absence is not a certification. A parent can read the chats. HeyOtto is not built as an ongoing emotional companion product. Distress brings crisis resources in the chat and an alert to the parent.

• Parents can read chats in the parent dashboard.
• Distress produces an alert and crisis resources, not an automatic call to emergency services.
• HeyOtto does not claim this statute is already satisfied.