AI rules restaurants should know about in 2026

No single US law governs AI in restaurants. Which rules apply depends on where the AI works: talking to guests (California, Utah and Maine have bot rules), recording calls and voices (recording and biometric laws), screening job applicants or setting shifts (New York City, California and, from 2027, Colorado), or placing calls in an AI voice (the FCC). This page lists each rule with its date and status. It is not legal advice.

Each row below comes from the statute, regulation or agency page itself. Use it to see which questions to bring to a lawyer who knows your states, and to your AI vendors. For vendor questions on data and contracts, see our list of questions to ask restaurant AI vendors.

Which AI rules could apply to a restaurant in 2026?

Rule	What it covers	Date	Status
California Bus. & Prof. Code 17940 to 17943	Using a bot online to mislead a person in California about its artificial identity to push a sale; saying it is a bot avoids liability	Operative July 1, 2019	In force
Utah Code 13-75 (S.B. 226)	A business using generative AI with a consumer must say so if the consumer clearly asks; safe harbor for disclosing at the start and throughout	Effective May 7, 2025	In force; state fines up to $2,500 per violation
Maine 10 M.R.S. 1500-DD	A chatbot, text or voice, that may lead a reasonable consumer to think it is human must clearly say it is not	Effective September 24, 2025	In force; enforced as an unfair trade practice
Texas Bus. & Com. Code ch. 552 (H.B. 149)	AI disclosure duty falls on government agencies; for businesses, bans AI deployed with intent to discriminate unlawfully or to push self-harm or crime	Effective January 1, 2026	In force; attorney general gives 60 days to cure
California Penal Code 632	Recording a confidential conversation needs every party's consent; excludes settings where people may reasonably expect to be overheard or recorded	Current text effective January 1, 2017	In force
18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d)	Federal rule: recording is lawful with one party's consent, unless done to commit a crime or tort	Federal statute	In force; stricter state rules still apply
Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act	Written notice and a written release before collecting fingerprints, voiceprints or face geometry	Effective October 3, 2008	In force
Texas Bus. & Com. Code 503.001	Inform the person and get consent before capturing a voiceprint or fingerprint for a commercial purpose; AI training exempt unless the system identifies a specific person	Since April 1, 2009; AI exemption from January 1, 2026	In force; up to $25,000 per violation
New York City Local Law 144	Automated hiring tools need a bias audit within one year, a public summary and notices to candidates	Enforced from July 5, 2023	In force
California Civil Rights Council rules	Automated-decision systems in hiring and promotion can break anti-discrimination law; keep the records for four years	Effective October 1, 2025	In force
California privacy regulations on automated decisions	Businesses under the CCPA that use automated tools for hiring, work assignment or pay	Effective January 1, 2026; existing uses must comply by January 1, 2027	Approved September 22, 2025
Colorado S.B. 26-189	Automated tools in consequential decisions, including hiring: notice at the point of use, an explanation after a bad outcome, human review on request	Effective January 1, 2027	Signed May 14, 2026; repeals and re-enacts the 2024 AI Act, which had been delayed to June 30, 2026
FCC declaratory ruling	Calls made with AI-generated voices count as "artificial" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act	February 8, 2024	In force
Executive Order 14365	Directs the Attorney General to form a task force to challenge state AI laws, and Commerce to list "onerous" ones	December 11, 2025	An order to federal agencies; it does not amend any state statute

The Illinois dates and wording come from the Illinois Supreme Court's opinions in Rosenbach v. Six Flags (2019) and Cothron v. White Castle (2023), which quote the act. Cothron began as a suit by a White Castle manager over fingerprint scans employees used to reach pay stubs and computers.

Do you have to tell guests they are talking to AI?

In Maine, a voice or text bot that could pass for a person must say it is not one. In Utah, a business must answer truthfully when a guest clearly asks, and the law protects businesses whose AI says so at the start and throughout. California's rule covers bots "online", and whether a phone line or speaker post counts is a question for counsel. Colorado's replacement law is about automated decisions such as hiring, and Texas puts its disclosure duty on government agencies.

A line at the start of the call or order is what Utah's safe harbor describes and the kind of notice Maine asks for. Ask counsel whether it also settles California, and give guests who want a person a quick way to ask for one.

What about recording calls and voiceprints?

Recording laws and biometric laws ask different questions: whether everyone agreed to be recorded, and whether anyone built a voiceprint that can identify a person. Ask each AI vendor whether it records audio, how long it keeps recordings, and whether it ever builds voiceprints or identifies repeat callers by voice. Our guide to remote drive-thru order taking lists recording questions to put to lane vendors.

The same biometric laws reach the back of the house. Fingerprint time clocks were the subject of the White Castle case, and Texas and Illinois both list fingerprints next to voiceprints.

What about AI in hiring and scheduling?

Automated tools that screen applicants, rank them or set pay fall under several rules at once. New York City requires a yearly bias audit for hiring tools. California's civil rights rules apply its anti-discrimination law to automated-decision systems and require four years of records. California's privacy regulations define a significant decision to include hiring, the allocation or assignment of work, and pay, so an AI scheduling tool may be covered for a business that meets the CCPA's size tests. Colorado's law adds notices and human review from 2027. Ask the maker of your applicant-tracking or scheduling software which of these it has prepared for, and for a copy of any bias audit.

What about AI calls to guests?

The FCC's February 2024 ruling means a call placed with an AI-generated voice is treated like any other artificial or prerecorded voice call under the TCPA. If an AI calls guests to confirm reservations, chase catering leads or market offers, ask counsel what consent you need first.

What are federal agencies doing?

Executive Order 14365 sets up federal challenges to state AI laws; until a court or legislature changes them, the state rules above are still on the books. The FTC's recent AI cases concern what sellers of AI claim. In August 2025 it sued Air AI over claims it made to small businesses about growth, earnings and refunds, and in March 2026 Air AI settled with a ban on marketing business opportunities. In July 2026 the FTC asked for comment on a proposed policy statement about AI accuracy, which addresses concerns that AI companies may be manipulating the behavior of their AI systems. Get any vendor's performance promises in writing.

What should you ask counsel and your vendors?

1. Which of these rules apply in each state where we run a store or take calls?
2. Does our greeting, sign or board wording meet the bot rules in those states?
3. Does our call or lane audio count as a confidential communication where all parties must consent?
4. Does any vendor create voiceprints, fingerprints or face data, and do we have written consent where it is needed?
5. Do our hiring and scheduling tools need a bias audit, notices or opt-outs, and who keeps the records?
6. Do any AI tools place calls to guests, and what consent do we hold?
7. Who at each vendor tells us when a law changes their product?

If you use Maple for phone answering or ordering, the same questions apply. Maple's product page describes what its phone agent does, and our guide to ChatGPT for restaurants covers why a person should check any AI answer about the law.

Published by Maple, which sells AI phone answering and ordering. This AI-assisted guide combines statute text, regulations, agency pages and Illinois Supreme Court opinions read in September 2026 into an original register and question list. It is not legal advice, does not cover every state or local rule, and does not say how any rule applies to your business.