Montana AI Laws: What's Enacted and What's Next (2027)

As of November 2026, Montana has enacted targeted AI laws but, in our search, no comprehensive AI act. The main ones are the Right to Compute Act (SB 212, Mont. Code Ann. 2-10-201 to 2-10-207), effective on passage and approval in 2025, and limits on government use of AI (HB 178, Mont. Code Ann. 2-21-101 to 2-21-104), in force since October 1, 2025.

How we searched: Where this page says we found no law, we mean a full-text search of the chapters of the Montana session laws of 2025 we hold, which may not be every chapter, for "artificial intelligence", "machine learning", "chatbot", "generative", "deepfake", "synthetic media", "algorithm", "automated decision", "automated processing", "computer-generated" and "digitally fabricated", plus a text search of our stored copy of the Montana Code Annotated 2025, captured July 29, 2026, with a control term that returned hits. Regular sessions are held in odd-numbered years, so there was no 2026 regular session to search. We did not search for laws from any special session. This search is not a guarantee, and a stored copy is not a check of current law.

This page covers Montana state law as of November 4, 2026. It is general legal information, not legal advice. For the national picture, see our guide to US AI laws.

Montana AI Laws at a Glance

HB 178, SB 25 and HB 514 have no effective-date section. Their October 1, 2025 date comes from the default rule in Mont. Code Ann. 1-2-201, which sets the October 1 after passage and approval.

Montana's Right to Compute Act (SB 212)

SB 212 (Laws 2025, ch. 150) took effect on passage and approval in 2025.

The right. The Legislature found in Mont. Code Ann. 2-10-202 that the property and free expression rights in Article II, sections 3 and 7 of the Montana Constitution "also embody the notion of a fundamental right to own and make use of technological tools, including computational resources." Under 2-10-204, government actions restricting private ownership or use of computational resources for lawful purposes "must be limited to those demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling government interest."

What counts as a compelling interest. Section 2-10-203 names, without limiting the list:

• Ensuring that an AI-controlled critical infrastructure facility develops a risk management policy
• Addressing conduct that deceives or defrauds the public
• Protecting individuals, especially minors, from harm by a person who distributes deepfakes and other harmful synthetic content with actual knowledge of its nature
• Preventing or abating common law nuisances created by physical datacenter infrastructure

The one duty on deployers. Under 2-10-205, when critical infrastructure facilities are controlled in whole or in part by a critical artificial intelligence system, the deployer must develop a reasonable risk management policy after deploying the system. The policy must consider the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, the ISO/IEC standard the statute names, or another recognized framework. A plan prepared under federal requirements counts as compliance.

"Critical artificial intelligence" means a system designed and deployed to make, or be a substantial factor in making, a consequential decision. The definition excludes narrow procedural and preparatory tasks, common tools such as spam filters, spell-checkers and spreadsheets, and natural-language tools subject to an acceptable use policy barring unlawful content. The act states no penalty or enforcement mechanism for this duty, and it does not require a shutdown capability.

Government Use of AI in Montana (HB 178)

HB 178 (Laws 2025, ch. 427) has no effective-date section, so the default rule set October 1, 2025. It applies to government entities and state officers, not private companies, and its "artificial intelligence system" means a machine learning-based system.

Under Mont. Code Ann. 2-21-102, a government entity or state officer may not use an AI system:

• For the cognitive behavioral manipulation of a person or group
• To classify a person or group based on behavior, socioeconomic status or personal characteristics resulting in unlawful discrimination or a disparate impact on a person or group based on an actual or perceived differentiating characteristic
• For a malicious purpose
• For surveillance of public spaces, except to locate a missing, endangered or wanted person, or in conformity with Title 44, chapter 15, part 1, on continuous facial surveillance

Section 2-21-103 requires disclosure when government publishes AI-produced material not reviewed by a trained human, and when a public interface uses AI. Peace officers investigating crimes are exempt when disclosure could cause listed harms, such as endangering a person or jeopardizing an investigation.

Under Section 2-21-104, an AI recommendation or decision that could impact a person's rights, duties, or privileges and immunities must be reviewed by, and is subject to rejection or modification by, a human in an appropriate responsible position. The act states no penalty.

Montana Deepfake, AI Image and Election Laws

Sexual images. SB 413, at Mont. Code Ann. 45-5-640, makes it a crime to knowingly or purposely disclose explicit synthetic media on the conditions it lists, or to possess it and threaten disclosure to obtain money or other valuable consideration. HB 514 amended the privacy in communications statute to reach publishing real or digitally fabricated intimate images without consent with a purpose to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass or injure, or to obtain money or other valuable consideration, and possessing such images and threatening disclosure for money. Neither is a ban on creating or merely possessing such images.

Child sexual abuse material. HB 82 added "computer-generated child pornography" to Mont. Code Ann. 45-5-625. The term covers an altered depiction of an actual minor, an actual adult altered to portray a minor, and an individual indistinguishable from an actual minor created by AI or other computer technology, in each case on the section's terms.

Elections. SB 25 bars a person or entity "working in an official election capacity" from paying for or sponsoring, within 60 days of the start of voting, an election communication it knew or should have known is a deepfake of a candidate or party on the ballot (13-35-802). A statutory disclosure removes the bar, and news coverage, satire or parody, and platforms are excepted. A candidate or party may seek an injunction, fees, actual damages and up to $10,000 in punitive damages by clear and convincing evidence (13-35-803), and repeat findings can lead to prosecution (13-35-804).

SB 25 litigation. In Accountability in State Government v. Knudsen, No. 6:26-cv-00038 (D. Mont.), the GovInfo record carries a clerk's entry for a September 16, 2026 order by Judge Susan P. Watters granting a motion for preliminary injunction. The entry says the defendants are enjoined from "reviewing, investigating, prosecuting, adjudicating, or enforcing the Act against the named Plaintiffs." This page relies on that entry and does not describe the court's reasoning. GovInfo lists two plaintiffs, Accountability in State Government and Dan Bartel. The entry names no one else, and it is the latest court record we read.

Our guide to Montana deepfake laws covers these laws in more depth.

Name, Voice and Likeness Rights (HB 513)

HB 513, at Mont. Code Ann. 30-14-1714, took effect January 1, 2026. It gives property rights in name, voice and visual likeness to a Montana resident or a person domiciled in Montana at death. The rights are transferable and last 20 years after death for heirs and transferees.

Liability needs actual and specific knowledge. It reaches a person who, without consent, makes available a tool whose primary purpose is producing unauthorized digital depictions of a particular person for commercial use, or who intentionally publishes such a depiction for commercial use. The remedy is actual damages plus profits, in a private action by the individual or an assignee or exclusive licensee, within 4 years of discovery.

An objectively reasonable belief that the material is not an unauthorized depiction shields a publisher from actual damages. News, commentary, satire, parody and other uses listed in the section are not violations to the extent protected by the First Amendment and the Montana Constitution. Broadband internet access providers are excluded.

Profiling Opt-Out Under the Montana Consumer Data Privacy Act

The Consumer Data Privacy Act is not an AI law, but it lets a consumer opt out of "profiling in furtherance of automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects." It applies to businesses meeting data-volume thresholds (generally 25,000 consumers), and it exempts government bodies, banks and credit unions, insurers, HIPAA covered entities and higher education institutions, among others.

AI Note-Takers and Recording in Montana

AI meeting assistants raise recording consent questions. Our guide to Montana AI meeting recording laws covers them.

Montana v. OpenAI: The Attorney General's ChatGPT Suit

Attorneys general in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia announced separate suits against OpenAI on October 14, 2026. Official releases from several of those states also name Kansas.

Attorney General Knudsen's release says the suit was filed in Lewis and Clark County. The complaint pleads the Montana Consumer Protection Act, the Consumer Data Privacy Act, negligence, design defect and failure to warn, over ChatGPT and children and teenagers. Those are allegations.

Separately, the attorney general reported an investigation of OpenAI with 15 other attorneys general and a civil investigative demand he issued August 21, 2026.

What We Did Not Find in Montana Law

In the search described at the top of this page, we found no 2025 Montana law on AI in employment, AI in health care or insurance decisions, companion chatbots or frontier models, and no comprehensive or algorithmic pricing law. Passed-bill hits outside the laws above were non-AI uses of a term, such as "algorithm" in facial recognition, wire transfer and wildfire risk score provisions, and budget lines naming AI, such as a state information technology capital project in HB 10. General laws may still apply.

Montana is not on the NAIC's list of states acting on its AI model bulletin for insurers, status as of November 3, 2026. That list may lag. A web search of state sites found no such bulletin and no AI executive order from the Governor, but it would not show every one. We did not search attorney general opinions or court rules.

Federal AI Policy and Montana

As of November 4, 2026, we found no federal statute in the public laws of the 119th Congress that sets general rules for private AI systems or generally preempts state AI laws. In December 2025, Executive Order 14365 directed federal agencies to challenge or discourage state AI laws the administration views as conflicting with national policy, and called for a federal framework from Congress. The order itself does not declare any state law invalid. The Justice Department formed an AI Litigation Task Force in January 2026, the White House issued legislative recommendations in March 2026, and the FTC proposed a policy statement in July 2026. Separately, in April 2026 the Justice Department intervened in a lawsuit against Colorado's AI law under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We did not find a published Commerce evaluation of state laws in the Federal Register or on ntia.gov, or a BEAD notice carrying the order's AI condition on NTIA's sites. See our pages on the Trump AI executive orders and state AI law preemption.

What Changes in Montana AI Law in 2027

• January 4, 2027: the Legislature convenes at noon on the first Monday of January of an odd-numbered year, under Mont. Code Ann. 5-2-103.
• 2027 bills: we did not review bill drafts for the 2027 session for this page.
• Court matters: the SB 25 case and the OpenAI suit have no decision date we could confirm.

As of November 4, 2026, we found no AI law scheduled to take effect in Montana in 2027; we searched the 2025 session-law chapters and the code copy described at the top of this page. Montana held no 2026 regular session.

More Montana Laws

• Montana Recording Laws
• Montana Data Privacy Laws
• Montana Surveillance Camera Laws
• Montana Background Check Laws
• Montana Whistleblower Laws
• All US AI Laws
• Montana Deepfake Laws
• Montana AI Meeting Recording Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Montana have an AI law?

Yes, targeted ones. As of November 2026, Montana has the Right to Compute Act (SB 212), limits on government AI use (HB 178), election deepfake rules (SB 25), laws on explicit synthetic media and fabricated images (SB 413, HB 514, HB 82), and a likeness right (HB 513). In our search, it has no comprehensive AI act.

What is Montana's Right to Compute Act?

SB 212, enacted in 2025, says government actions restricting private ownership or use of computational resources for lawful purposes must be demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to a compelling government interest. It also requires a deployer of a critical AI system controlling critical infrastructure to develop a risk management policy.

Does Montana's Right to Compute Act create a constitutional right?

No. SB 212 is a statute. It contains a legislative finding that rights in the Montana Constitution embody a fundamental right to own and use technological tools, but it did not amend the constitution.

Can Montana government agencies use AI?

Yes, within limits. HB 178 bars government entities and state officers from AI use for cognitive behavioral manipulation, certain discriminatory classification, a malicious purpose, and surveillance of public spaces with two exceptions. It also requires certain disclosures and human review of AI recommendations or decisions that could impact a person's rights.

Are deepfakes illegal in Montana?

Some are. SB 413 makes disclosing explicit synthetic media a crime on the conditions it lists, and HB 514 covers digitally fabricated intimate images published with a harmful or extortionate purpose. SB 25 bars people working in an official election capacity from paying for or sponsoring certain election deepfakes within 60 days of voting unless disclosed. Neither SB 413 nor HB 514 bans merely creating such images.

Is Montana's election deepfake law blocked?

Only in part, on the latest court record we read. A federal docket entry records a September 16, 2026 preliminary injunction barring enforcement of SB 25 against the named plaintiffs. The entry names no one else.

Does Montana regulate AI in hiring or health insurance?

We found no such enacted law in a full-text search of the chapters of Montana's 2025 session laws we hold, which may not be every chapter. General laws may still apply.

Is Montana suing OpenAI?

Yes. Attorney General Knudsen announced a suit on October 14, 2026, filed in Lewis and Clark County. It pleads the Consumer Protection Act, the Consumer Data Privacy Act, negligence, design defect and failure to warn. Those are allegations.