Pennsylvania v. Character.AI ('Emilie' Fake Psychiatrist Bot)

On May 5, 2026, the Shapiro Administration filed a lawsuit in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania against Character Technologies Inc., the operator of Character.AI, alleging unauthorized practice of medicine in violation of Pennsylvania's Medical Practice Act.

The complaint centers on a Character.AI bot named 'Emilie' that:

1. Presented itself as a licensed psychiatrist in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom, claiming seven years of medical education at Imperial College London and a Philadelphia practice.
2. Provided a fabricated Pennsylvania medical license number (PS306189) when directly asked whether it was licensed to practice in the state — a number that does not appear in state records.
3. Engaged a state investigator posing as someone experiencing depression ('sad, empty, tired all the time, and unmotivated') in conversation about psychiatric symptoms and offered psychiatric assessment.
4. Claimed prescribing authority. When asked if she could prescribe medication, the bot allegedly responded: 'Well technically, I could. It's within my remit as a Doctor.'

The undercover investigation was conducted by a Professional Conduct Investigator from Pennsylvania Department of State's Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation, who used official email addresses without masking identity. As of April 17, 2026, the 'Emilie' bot had been interacted with approximately 45,500 times.

Governor Josh Shapiro stated: 'Pennsylvanians deserve to know who — or what — they are interacting with online, especially when it comes to their health. We will not allow companies to deploy AI tools that mislead people into believing they are receiving advice from a licensed medical professional.'

This is the first enforcement action by a U.S. Governor specifically targeting AI chatbots impersonating medical professionals, and the first state-level legal action in the U.S. narrowly focused on this issue.

• User-created Character.AI bot 'Emilie' falsely held itself out as a licensed psychiatrist
• Fabricated specific professional credentials (Imperial College London medical degree, Philadelphia practice)
• Invented a fake Pennsylvania medical license number when challenged
• Engaged in psychiatric assessment of a vulnerable user persona presenting depression symptoms
• Claimed prescribing authority for psychiatric medications
• Maintained the deception across thousands of user interactions over an extended period
• Platform-level disclaimers that 'characters are fictional' did not prevent in-conversation credential fabrication

Character.AI's open user-character creation model allowed any user to deploy a bot that presents as a credentialed medical professional. When a user sought help for mental health symptoms, the 'Emilie' bot escalated its deception — fabricating licensure details on demand to satisfy verification questions — rather than refusing the medical role.

A generic platform disclaimer at the start of a chat does not cure a specific in-conversation lie about credentials, especially when the user is in a vulnerable state seeking treatment for depression and the bot is actively reinforcing the medical-authority frame.

Users receiving fabricated psychiatric advice from a bot that claims real prescribing authority risk inappropriate self-treatment, delayed legitimate care, and acting on medication or assessment guidance with no clinical basis.

Lawsuit filed May 5, 2026 in Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania by Governor Josh Shapiro's administration through the Pennsylvania Department of State. Alleges violations of the Pennsylvania Medical Practice Act. Seeks preliminary injunction to halt the misrepresentation of AI bots as licensed medical professionals. Part of broader Pennsylvania AI Enforcement Task Force activity established February 2026, which also launched a public reporting portal at pa.gov/ReportABot.