Does general liability cover AI?

It did by silence: the standard form never mentioned AI, so a claim that an AI-written statement defamed someone or an AI-controlled system hurt someone was judged on the ordinary grants. From January 2026 a carrier can attach CG 40 47 or CG 40 48 and remove those claims. Whether yours did is on the forms schedule. Without the endorsement, general liability still covers a non-media business for AI-related injury, damage and advertising injury the way it always did.

How do I know if my policy has the generative-AI exclusion?

Look at the schedule of forms and endorsements on the declarations pages for CG 40 47, CG 40 48 or CG 35 08, or for a carrier-specific form with "artificial intelligence" or "generative" in its title. Renewal documents usually list new endorsements in a notice of changes. Or send us the policy; reading the forms schedule is the first thing we do on any new account and the endorsement takes a minute to find.

Can I get the exclusion removed?

Sometimes. It is optional for the carrier, and a carrier that attached it by default will occasionally remove it for an account with a clean history and a documented AI policy, or replace it with narrower wording. Where the carrier will not, the fix is an affirmative AI endorsement on a media, tech E&O or cyber policy, a small-business AI liability add-on through a carrier that offers HSB’s, or for an AI vendor, a standalone AI liability policy.

Does the exclusion affect a business that only uses AI tools?

Yes, and that is most businesses. The wording is "arising out of" generative AI, which reaches an ad written with a chatbot, a product image made with an image model and a customer-service answer given by an assistant. A contractor whose office uses AI to draft proposals is in scope the same as a software company. The practical question is how much of what could produce a claim was AI-assisted, and for many businesses the answer changed this year.

Is this the same as the AI exclusions on my cyber or E&O policy?

Same idea, different forms. The ISO endorsements are for general liability. Cyber, tech E&O, D&O and EPLI carriers write their own; Berkley’s reaches D&O, E&O and fiduciary, Hamilton’s names specific tools, and others such as Beazley and Coalition have gone the opposite way and written AI cover in. A business has to read each policy separately, because the answer can be different on every one it holds.

A liability policy open in a ring binder on a conference table at sunset, one clause highlighted in yellow, a highlighter and reading glasses beside it, a leather chair and the city through the window

What is the generative-AI exclusion on my liability policy, and what does it take away?

In January 2026 ISO, the body that writes the standard commercial policy language most carriers use, published three optional endorsements that remove generative-AI claims from general liability: CG 40 47 excludes bodily injury, property damage and personal and advertising injury arising out of generative AI, CG 40 48 excludes only the personal and advertising injury part, and CG 35 08 does the same for products and completed operations. Several carriers filed their own versions for professional and management lines the same year. A policy that carries one no longer covers a defamation, copyright, injury or damage claim traced to AI output, and it takes effect at your next renewal without a change to your premium or your certificate.

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Binder open. One clause highlighted. Sun going down.The certificate looks the same with the endorsement attached. The exclusion is on page nine.

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AI liability insurance, the fix for the exclusion.

Endorsements and standalone policies that cover AI affirmatively, and who writes them.

AI liability insurance, the fix for the exclusion

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The detail

ISO introduced three generative-AI exclusions for the commercial general liability program in January 2026: CG 40 47 (Coverage A and B), CG 40 48 (Coverage B, personal and advertising injury, only) and CG 35 08 (products and completed operations).
Gallagher, "ISO introduces generative AI exclusion in commercial general liability policies"
W.R. Berkley filed an independent absolute AI exclusion for directors and officers, errors and omissions and fiduciary liability targeting any actual or alleged use of AI, and Hamilton Insurance Group filed language excluding claims involving generative AI tools that names ChatGPT, Bard and Midjourney.
Policyholder Pulse, "AI exclusions in insurance policies: broad language, uncertain impact"
Beazley has stated it has no plans to exclude AI and that its cyber and technology E&O forms cover most current uses of artificial intelligence.
Commercial Risk, "Beazley has no plans to exclude AI"
A Gallagher study cited in July 2026 found AI-related lawsuits up 978% from 2021 to 2025 and 137% from 2024 to 2025, with patent infringement (11.9%), copyright (11.2%) and personal injury or privacy (10.2%) the largest claim types.
Claims Journal, "Insurer interest in AI exclusions growing as risk becomes omnipresent"
Adoption rates for the ISO exclusions were not yet known as of July 2026, pending renewal cycles; Verisk described exclusions as essential to give underwriters flexibility on an emerging exposure.
Claims Journal, "Insurer interest in AI exclusions growing as risk becomes omnipresent"

What this means for you

Read the endorsement schedule, not the certificate.A certificate lists the policy and its limits. The exclusion is an endorsement, numbered, on the schedule of forms attached to the policy. CG 40 47 or CG 40 48 on that list means the cover you had for an AI-written statement or an AI-caused injury is gone, and nobody was obliged to phone you about it.
Coverage B is where most small businesses will feel it.Personal and advertising injury is the general liability grant that answers libel, slander and privacy claims for a non-media business. CG 40 48 removes it for anything arising out of generative AI, which today includes the blog post, the product description, the ad and the chatbot answer.
The gap has a price and a seller.HSB launched an AI liability add-on for small businesses in March 2026, sold through partner carriers to sit exactly where the exclusion cuts. Media, tech E&O and cyber carriers offer affirmative AI wording. The question at renewal is whether your carrier will remove the endorsement, and if not, which of those fills the hole.
The professional lines are moving faster than the GL forms.Berkley’s exclusion reaches D&O, E&O and fiduciary. A company whose board approved an AI deployment, or whose product uses one, should read the management liability renewal with the same care as the general liability one.

Need this handled?

Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.