On May 27, the Connecticut governor signed into law a comprehensive artificial intelligence (“AI”) bill that regulates safety, transparency, and consumer protection, including subscription marketing (“SB 5”). Alongside key provisions on Employee Reporting Protections, AI Companions, and Automated Employment-Related Decision Technology (discussed in more detail here), SB 5 also sets out disclosure requirements for businesses that offer AI technology on a subscription basis. Shortly thereafter, on June 2, the governor signed into law HB 5222, a companion bill that modified some of the provisions of SB 5, including the provision on AI subscriptions.

Connecticut’s new AI subscription law is the first AI-specific subscription law we have seen and likely reflects growing scrutiny of these services and the way they are described to consumers. It will take effect on October 1, 2026.

Key Requirements

Subscription-based providers must provide the consumer with a written notice disclosing the key terms and conditions of the subscription for initial subscriptions and subscription renewals.

For the initial subscription, the written notice must provide at a minimum “material information that is sufficient to enable a reasonable consumer to decide whether to purchase or maintain the subscription.” This includes but is not limited to:

  • Any quantitative or qualitative limitations the business may impose under the terms of the subscription, including limits on tokens, images generated or modified or transcription services as well as limits imposed in response to conduct by the consumer; and
  • Whether the provider has discretion to limit or eliminate the consumer’s access to, or reduce the quantity or quality of, any functionality of the generative AI system offered under such subscription.

For subscription renewals, the written notice must provide at a minimum:

  • Any quantitative or qualitative limitations (as discussed above) that will be imposed for the first time during the renewal term or were imposed for the immediately preceding subscription term but have been modified for the renewal term; and
  • Any discretion (as discussed above) that the provider will be able to exercise for the first time during the subscription renewal term or was able to exercise during the immediately preceding subscription term but has been modified for the subscription renewal term

Subscription providers must also obtain the consumer’s written notice that the consumer has accepted the key terms and conditions of the subscription.

Applicability

The law applies to subscription-based providers, which are broadly defined as a person, excluding government agencies, doing business in the state who:

  1. Creates, codes, or otherwise produces a generative artificial intelligence system that: (I) has more than one million users per month, and (II) is publicly accessible to consumers for personal use; and
  2. Provides or offers to provide that generative AI system to consumers on a subscription basis.

The bill defines a “generative AI system” as “any technology that uses machine learning to generate images, audio or video.” The definition includes, but is not limited to, “any system utilizing deep learning, natural language processing or other computational processing techniques of similar or greater complexity.”

Interestingly, the definition of subscription does not appear to be limited to autorenewals. It is defined as “an agreement between a subscription-based provider and a consumer under which the subscription-based provider offers a generative artificial intelligence system to the consumer in exchange for a fee, remuneration or compensation of any kind from the consumer.”

Enforcement & Effective Date

The law takes effect October 1, 2026 and is enforceable exclusively by the Connecticut Attorney General. Violations of HB 5222 constitute an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and may incur up to $5,000 per willful violation.

Covington’s Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations team regularly advises clients on automatic renewal compliance at the state and federal level. We are available to discuss questions arising from these developments. If you have any questions about the issues discussed here, please contact a member of our Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations practice.

Photo of Laura Kim Laura Kim

Laura Kim has a proven track record of successfully resolving clients’ most important consumer protection matters before the FTC, State AGs, and the NAD. She is well-known for her insider knowledge of the FTC as well as her practical approach to accomplishing her…

Laura Kim has a proven track record of successfully resolving clients’ most important consumer protection matters before the FTC, State AGs, and the NAD. She is well-known for her insider knowledge of the FTC as well as her practical approach to accomplishing her clients’ objectives.

As chair of Covington’s Advertising & Consumer Protection Investigations practice group, Laura represents corporate and individual clients in investigations before the FTC and State Attorneys General. She also provides pragmatic compliance advice on a wide range of consumer protection issues, including substantiating claims involving generative artificial intelligence, environmental benefits, and “Made in USA.” She counsels brands on emerging issues involving influencers, consumer reviews, AI-generated content, and subscription autorenewals. Laura regularly represents both challengers and advertisers before the NAD, achieving favorable outcomes in matters involving artificial intelligence, influencers, and claim substantiation.

During her twelve-year tenure at the FTC, Laura served as Assistant Director in two divisions of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Attorney Advisor to Chairman William E. Kovacic, and Chief of Staff to Bureau Director Jessica Rich. She oversaw major rulemakings—including the Green Guides and the Telemarketing Sales Rule—and supervised dozens of investigations and enforcement actions. As Assistant Director in the Division of Enforcement, Laura also supervised compliance monitoring and enforcement proceedings for companies under federal court or Commission order.

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Photo of Alexandra Remick Alexandra Remick

Alexandra Remick is a member of the Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations Group. Her practice focuses on regulatory and compliance matters related to consumer protection. She has experience advising clients on topics including endorsements, social media influencers, native advertising, automatically renewing subscriptions, consumer…

Alexandra Remick is a member of the Advertising and Consumer Protection Investigations Group. Her practice focuses on regulatory and compliance matters related to consumer protection. She has experience advising clients on topics including endorsements, social media influencers, native advertising, automatically renewing subscriptions, consumer reviews, and claim substantiation in a variety of contexts. She frequently provides advice on specific advertising compliance questions and works with companies on developing internal advertising compliance policies. She has also represented multiple clients in FTC investigations involving consumer protection issues, has conducted regulatory due diligence on multiple transactions, and has drafted comments on multiple rulemakings.

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Photo of Munseong Park Munseong Park

Munseong Park is an associate in the London office. His practice focuses on trademark matters, with an emphasis on counseling and litigation, as well as regulatory matters related to consumer protection.

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