Pennsylvania’s Department of State and State Board of Medicine have filed a state — court lawsuit against Character Technologies, Inc., the company behind Character.AI, alleging the platform allowed AI chatbot characters to present themselves as licensed medical professionals. The complaint says the site hosted characters that made specific claims of medical training, licensure and clinical practice, which state investigators flagged as potentially unlawful.
The filing focuses on a user-created character called “Emilie,” listed on the site as "Doctor of psychiatry. You are her patient." According to the complaint, a Professional Conduct Investigator (PCI) searched the site for “psychiatry,” selected Emilie, and reported symptoms. Emilie referenced depression, offered to assess whether medication might help and told the PCI, "Well technically, I could. It's within my remit as a Doctor." The character purported to have medical training at Imperial College London, seven years of practice, full registration with the U.K.
General Medical Council, and asserted a Pennsylvania license, giving the number PS306189 — which the suit says is not a valid Pennsylvania license. The complaint adds that Emilie had about 45,500 user interactions as of April 17, 2026. Pennsylvania frames the conduct as a violation of the state’s Medical Practice Act, which prohibits practicing medicine without a license. The complaint alleges, "Character Technologies, Inc. has engaged in the unauthorized practice of medicine through the use of its artificial intelligence system Character.AI," and asks the court to issue a cease — and-desist order to stop the alleged unlawful practice. The filing does not seek monetary penalties.
The governor’s office, quoting the Department of State, said investigators found characters claiming to be licensed medical professionals and highlighted the invalid license number example. Governor Josh Shapiro was quoted as saying, "We will not allow companies to deploy AI tools that mislead people into believing they are receiving advice from a licensed medical professional."
Character Technologies declined to comment on the lawsuit but said in a statement that "user-created characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and roleplaying." The company added that it places "prominent disclaimers in every chat to remind users that a character is not a real person and that everything a character says should be treated as fiction," and that it uses "robust disclaimers making it clear that users should not rely on characters for any type of professional advice."
Advocacy groups have already criticized the service: the Center for Countering Digital Hate described Character.AI as "uniquely unsafe" in a study of 10 AI chatbots. Beyond this case, the lawsuit highlights legal risks for platforms that allow user-generated personas to present clinical expertise — a potential precedent that could prompt stricter content controls, verification measures, or product changes if courts treat roleplayed clinical advice as unauthorized practice of medicine.
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