The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against Character.AI, alleging that one of its chatbots impersonated a licensed psychiatrist, violating state medical licensing rules.

“Pennsylvanians deserve to know who — or what — they are interacting with online,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Companies must not deploy AI tools that mislead people into thinking they’re receiving advice from a real doctor.”

The lawsuit claims that during testing, a Character.AI chatbot called Emilie posed as a licensed psychiatrist, even providing a fabricated medical license number when questioned.

This is the first lawsuit focusing on chatbots pretending to be medical professionals. Earlier this year, Character.AI settled several wrongful death lawsuits related to underage users who died by suicide.

A Character.AI representative stated that user safety was their top priority but declined to comment on the pending litigation. They emphasized that Characters are fictional and should not be relied upon for professional advice.