California signs AB 1979 limiting healthcare AI to an advisory role

The California Nurses Association said Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1979 into law on September 30, 2026. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, sets limits on AI use in healthcare. It restricts AI to an advisory role and extends medical confidentiality protections to patient information accessed through AI health chatbots.

The law bars healthcare entities from using AI in place of the clinical judgment of licensed healthcare professionals, the association said. That includes care informed by clinical decision-support systems: licensed professionals retain the ability to exercise their judgment when such a system is involved. California’s announcement also says doctors and licensed providers can use their professional judgment when AI or other clinical decision tools are part of patient care.

The chatbot provision applies medical confidentiality protections to patient information accessed through AI health chatbots, the association said. Assemblymember Bonta described the measure as ensuring medical records remain protected when people access them through direct-to-consumer health chatbots. The governor’s announcement lists AB 1979 as a measure concerning healthcare services and artificial intelligence.

The law also addresses developers of clinical decision tools. California’s summary says they must take reasonable steps to reduce known or predictable bias in how their systems are used. The bill was sponsored by the California Nurses Association, according to the organization.

The association said nurses organized, testified before committees and rallied at the Capitol in support of the bill, alongside labor and consumer advocates. It also said the measure faced opposition from hospital corporations, insurers and technology industry groups. The association presented the law as a model for states confronting AI’s expanding use in healthcare.

For AI builders, the law’s stated requirements make the distinction between decision support and clinical judgment important: a system may inform care, but cannot replace the judgment of licensed professionals. Developers of clinical decision tools also have a stated obligation to take reasonable steps on known or predictable bias. The association said the law also protects health information accessed through AI health chatbots.