HB3021
CONSUMER FRAUD-AI DECEPTION
TL;DR
Illinois HB3021, introduced by Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, would make it illegal under the state's Consumer Fraud Act to use chatbots, AI agents, or voice AI in customer interactions without clearly telling consumers they are talking to a machine, not a human. If passed, it takes effect January 1, 2026.
How This Might Impact Your Business
Any company using customer service chatbots, AI voice agents, or AI sales assistants in Illinois would need to add clear and conspicuous disclosures that consumers are talking to AI, not humans.
Applies broadly to any person or business engaged in commercial transactions with Illinois consumers, with no stated size threshold or industry carve-outs.
Violations fall under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, which allows for civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation, Attorney General enforcement, and private lawsuits including attorney fees.
Liability applies even if no consumer was actually misled or harmed, meaning the mere lack of disclosure is enough to trigger enforcement.
Industries most exposed include e-commerce, retail, financial services, insurance, healthcare scheduling, telecom, and any SaaS vendor selling AI chat or voice tools into Illinois.
Compliance deadline is January 1, 2026, giving businesses a short runway to update chatbot scripts, IVR voice systems, and AI-driven sales or support tools.
Bill is currently stalled in the Rules Committee after a floor amendment, so passage in current form is uncertain but the disclosure trend is spreading across states (California, Utah, Colorado have similar rules).
What Should You Do
Inventory every customer-facing AI touchpoint (web chatbots, voice IVR, SMS bots, AI email responders) and flag which ones interact with Illinois consumers.
Ask your legal or compliance team to draft standard AI disclosure language and confirm it appears at the start of every AI conversation, not buried in terms of service.
Brief your customer experience and marketing teams: disclosures should be prominent but designed to preserve conversion rates and user trust.
Track HB3021 status through the Illinois Rules Committee and set a compliance target of Q4 2025 in case the January 1, 2026 effective date holds.
If you sell AI chat or voice products to Illinois businesses, prepare a customer-facing compliance guide, this will become a procurement question.
Who It Affects
Sponsors
Status Timeline
introduced
House Floor Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee
February 6, 2025