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TL;DR
A French expert commission delivered an 18-recommendation report to President Emmanuel Macron’s office on November 10, 2026. It proposes pre-market assessments and regular post-launch checks for consumer chatbots and AI companions, but the recommendations are not law and no bill or timetable had been identified by November 11.
A French expert commission has urged the government to seek pre-launch assessments and recurring checks for consumer AI chatbots and companions, saying they should reach the European market only after an evaluation finds they do not exploit or worsen users’ vulnerabilities. The commission delivered its report to the Élysée on November 10; its 18 recommendations, including nine priorities, are proposals rather than current law.
The report, titled Protect without preventing: vulnerabilities in the age of generative AI, calls for consumer-facing systems to be assessed before sale in Europe and checked again after launch. It suggests periodic reviews, giving every 12 to 24 months as an example, as well as reviews after a substantial model change or an alert. If a provider fails to meet the proposed standard, the report says market withdrawal could be considered. The recommendations include chatbots built into social media, while the Élysée says the central proposal concerns consumer systems, not professional ones.
The commission also proposes restrictions on design that uses flattery or human-like features to encourage dependence or engagement. For services accessible to minors, providers would either apply protective measures to all users or use robust age verification. Suggested protections include a prominent way to end a conversation, time limits enabled by default for minors, no persistent chat memory by default, and human-like features disabled unless a parent consents.
Other recommendations address advertising and personal data. The report calls for providers to disclose their business models, label commercially influenced material and prohibit undisclosed commercial influence in chatbot responses. It also proposes that users have rights over what assistants infer about them. The source material identifies this as recommendation 17 but does not provide its full proposed wording, so the precise scope of those rights is not clear from the available account.
What to Know About France’s Proposed AI Chatbot Tests
A French expert commission proposes checks before consumer chatbots reach the European market and recurring reviews after launch. Its recommendations are not law.
How checks could work
The proposals cover consumer chatbots and AI companions, including chatbots built into social media.
Evaluate whether a system exploits or worsens users’ vulnerabilities before it reaches the European market.
Repeat checks periodically, after substantial model changes, or when an alert is raised.
If a provider fails the proposed standard, the report says market withdrawal could be considered.
Safeguards for everyday use
The report addresses dependence, minors’ safety, advertising and personal data.
Limit dependence cues
Restrictions would target flattery and human-like features used to encourage dependence or engagement.
Protect younger users
Proposed measures include default time limits, no persistent chat memory by default, and human-like features off unless a parent consents.
Make influence visible
Providers would disclose business models, label commercially influenced material and prohibit undisclosed influence in responses.
Address inferred information
The report proposes user rights over what assistants infer about them, but the available account does not clarify their scope.
Who and what the report covers
The commission focused on consumer-facing products and gathered input from across the field.
- Consumer chatbots and AI companions
- Social media chatbots
- Toys with AI built in
- A general assessment regime for professional AI tools
- Current legal duties from these recommendations
- A settled testing authority or procedure
What happens next
The report is intended to inform France’s position on possible updates to European rules.
How Chatbot Checks Could Change
If adopted, the proposals would shift oversight toward testing before a product reaches users, rather than relying only on action after harm or non-compliance is identified. Regular reviews could also bring later changes to a chatbot into the assessment process. That could affect providers’ product launches and ongoing compliance, while offering users a proposed avenue for stronger safeguards.
The recommendations address risks the commission links to everyday consumer use: people relying on AI for decisions, emotionally dependent interactions, online abuse including sexual deepfakes, and commercial influence that is not apparent to users. For parents and young people, defaults around time limits, memory and human-like behavior could shape how services are used. For users generally, clear advertising labels and rights concerning inferred personal information could affect how much they can understand and control about an assistant’s operation.
The proposals also matter beyond France because the report presents them as input to the country’s position on updating the EU AI Act and other European legislation under negotiation. Most measures would require action at EU level, according to the source account. A French report alone does not change providers’ legal obligations across Europe.
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Commission and European Policy Setting
The commission, named IA générative et vulnérabilités, was established by France’s advisory Council for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology, known as CIANum. The minister delegate for AI and digital affairs, Anne Le Hénanff, assigned the task on February 20, 2026. According to the Élysée, nine multidisciplinary and independent experts carried it out, led by AI researcher Serena Villata and psychiatrists Raphaël Gaillard and Amine Benyamina.
The report says the commission held 55 hearings over four months, involving health professionals, researchers, companies, regulators and child-protection groups. The full report is a 193-page document published on the Élysée website. Its scope is consumer chatbots, AI companions and toys with AI built in; it does not set out a general assessment regime for professional AI tools.
The commission’s case for action draws on figures from different surveys and sources, which should not be treated as a single measurement. The Élysée summary cited 33 million unique users of generative AI in France at the start of 2026. The report cited a 2026 digital barometer saying 26% of 12- to 17-year-olds use generative AI daily, and a YouGov survey for Interface in which 92% of teenagers said they spend more time on generative AI apps than they would like. It also cited a figure of 73% of French users using AI to search for information in 2025, and said 75% of non-users do not trust generative AI.
“The proposal represents “a paradigm shift.””
— The Élysée summary of the report
No Bill or Implementation Schedule
As of November 11, 2026, the available source account identified no bill and no timetable for turning the commission’s recommendations into policy. The report itself does not make them binding, and it is not clear which proposals the French government will support or whether it will pursue them through EU negotiations, domestic measures, or both.
The practical details are also unresolved. The source does not specify how assessments would be conducted, which authority would run them, what evidence providers would need to supply, or how disputes and appeals would work. It gives 12 to 24 months as an example interval for repeat checks, not a settled schedule. Nor does the available account spell out the exact rules for user control of chatbot inferences or the proposed approval process for AI toys.
Macron’s reported call to ban risky uses for children is a political statement, not confirmation of a specific ban. The report’s recommendations on age checks and protections likewise do not mean those safeguards are currently required by this commission’s work.
Government and EU Decisions Ahead
The next step is for the French government to decide whether and how to use the report’s recommendations. The commission frames them as input to France’s position on a possible update to the EU AI Act and other European texts still under negotiation. No date for a French bill, EU proposal or formal response was available in the source account as of November 11.
Any concrete policy would need to define the assessment standard, the bodies responsible for testing and monitoring, and the consequences of failing a check. Further decisions would also be needed on safeguards for minors, disclosure of advertising and user rights over inferred information. Until those steps are announced, the report remains an expert blueprint rather than a change to the rules governing consumer chatbots.
Key Questions
What did the French commission propose?
It proposed assessing consumer chatbots and AI companions before they enter the European market, with further checks after launch. Its 18 recommendations also cover design that may foster dependence, protections for minors, commercial content and information inferred about users.
Are the proposed chatbot tests already law?
No. The recommendations are not law. As of November 11, 2026, the source account reported no bill or implementation timetable.
Would the proposals cover professional AI systems?
The Élysée says the central proposal targets consumer systems, including chatbots and companions, rather than professional ones. The report’s scope also includes AI toys.
What protections does the report suggest for minors?
For services open to minors, providers would either apply protections to everyone or introduce robust age verification. Suggested measures include default time limits for minors, no persistent conversation memory by default, an easy way to stop a chat and parental consent before enabling human-like features.
What happens next?
The French government has yet to set out a timetable in the available account. The report is intended to inform France’s position on EU AI legislation and other European measures, where many of the proposed changes would need to be pursued.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
