Illinois makes it illegal for AI to act as your therapist

The short version

Illinois now says therapy has to come from a licensed human. A company cannot offer therapy or psychotherapy to people in the state through an AI system, and a licensed clinician cannot hand the therapeutic part of the work to one. The law took effect on August 1, 2025.

What the law does

The law is the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act, passed as House Bill 1806 and numbered Public Act 104-0054. It has two main rules.

The first applies to everyone. No individual, corporation, or other entity may provide, advertise, or offer therapy or psychotherapy to the public in Illinois, including through internet-based AI, unless a licensed professional conducts it.

The second applies to licensed clinicians. They may use AI only for administrative and supplementary support, such as scheduling, billing, and keeping records. They may not let AI make independent therapeutic decisions, interact directly with clients in any form of therapeutic communication, generate therapeutic recommendations or treatment plans without the clinician's review and approval, or detect emotions or mental states. If AI is used on a session that is recorded or transcribed, the client must be told in writing that AI will be used and for what purpose, and must consent.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) enforces it. After a hearing, the department can impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. IDFPR announced the law in a news release dated August 4, 2025.

What changes

An app or website that provides, advertises, or offers therapy to the public in Illinois through AI, without a licensed professional conducting it, violates the Act as written. The text does not exempt companies based outside Illinois. A clinician can still use AI for the paperwork around a session, but not in the therapy itself.

Section 35 lists what the Act does not cover: religious counseling, peer support, and self-help or educational material that is open to the public and does not claim to be therapy.

What it does not show

This is a state law, not a study. It says nothing about whether AI chatbots help or harm people in recovery. It reflects a policy choice about who may deliver therapy.

It covers Illinois only. Other states have written their own rules, and those differ.

The exceptions leave real questions open. Self-help materials and educational resources that are open to the public and do not claim to offer therapy are exempt, so a recovery app built that way may fall outside the ban. Peer support is narrower. The Act defines it as services provided by individuals with lived experience, so the exemption describes people, not software. Where that line sits for a specific product is a question for regulators and courts. The sources for this entry do not report any enforcement actions.

We have not read any court decision interpreting the Act. Nothing here is legal advice.

Why it matters

The line Illinois drew is easy to state: an AI can be a tool a clinician uses, but it cannot be the clinician.

If you are choosing an app, look at what it claims to be. A product that says it provides therapy with no licensed person involved is, in Illinois, a violation.

Counselors and programs in Illinois get a specific list rather than a general warning. An AI-drafted treatment plan needs the licensed professional's review and approval, and tools that read a client's emotions are off the table in therapy.

Peer support is on the exempt list. The Act defines it as services from people with lived experience of mental health conditions or recovery from substance use, offered without clinical intervention. The Act is aimed at therapy, not at people in recovery who support each other.