California law gives customers a person in 15 minutes or less
A company that tries hard to do the 15 minutes obeys the law, also when it is not in time.
On 28 September, California governor Gavin Newsom signed the Right to Human Customer Service Act. The law is for a company with revenue of more than $500 million each year. From 1 January 2027, it must connect a customer to a person in 15 minutes or less, when the customer asks. The other procedure is a call-back in one business day. A chatbot cannot tell you that it is a person, and it cannot be the only alternative to get help.
What the law requires
A company must tell the customer when a customer can think a chatbot is a person. A hold is a maximum of 15 minutes, and all holds are a maximum of one hour. Only public prosecutors can make a company obey the law, with fines of a maximum of $5,000.
What vendors do
This is a law, and there are no test results. Salesforce said in March 2025 that its Agentforce tool can give a person after a time limit with no solution. Since 18 May, Zendesk counts a conversation that an AI started and a person finished as a different conversation and charges for it.
What is not known
The California Chamber of Commerce says a time limit will make agents end calls fast. On 20 October, New York City proposed a rule with no time limit, but companies must keep logs for three years. The rule does not include airlines and national banks.
Insight: The handoff to a person becomes a logged and billed service
California sets a procedure to get a person. New York City proposes that companies keep logs to show it. Zendesk charges a different fee for a conversation that an AI starts and a person finishes. This reads as a toll gate: the vendor that sends and records each handoff can collect a fee on it. Leaders must get that price from their vendors.
Sources
Posted
