Foto: Lovguiden Billedarkiv / AI-genereret
- EU AI Act transparency rules take effect on 2 August 2026.
- Chatbots must tell users they are interacting with AI; deepfakes must be clearly labelled.
- AI-generated content must carry machine-readable marks for easier detection.
- Companies face fines of up to €15 million or 3% of global turnover.
- EU AI Office and national authorities begin enforcing the AI Act.
From 2 August 2026, new EU rules on the transparency of AI systems take effect. The rules set out in Article 50 of the EU AI Act will help people recognise when they are interacting with an AI system or are exposed to AI-generated content, so they can make informed decisions and better protect themselves from misinformation or deception.
On the same date, the European Commission's AI Office, together with national authorities, will begin enforcing the AI Act.
Background
The rapid development of generative and interactive AI systems is making it increasingly difficult to distinguish AI interactions and AI-generated content from human-created and authentic content. Individuals are also increasingly exposed to emotion recognition and biometric categorisation without their knowledge, raising new risks of misinformation and manipulation at scale, fraud, impersonation and consumer deception. The new rules are intended to foster trust and integrity in the information ecosystem.
What do the rules require?
The obligations apply to both providers and deployers of AI systems.
Providers must:
- Design AI systems in a way that ensures individuals are explicitly informed whenever they interact directly with an AI system
- Add machine-readable marks to enable the detection of AI-generated or manipulated content
Deployers must inform individuals when they are exposed to:
- Emotion recognition and biometric categorisation tools
- Deepfakes
- Text publications on matters of public interest without human review or editorial control
In practice, chatbots and other interactive AI systems will have to tell users they are dealing with AI, not a human. Deepfakes – images, videos or audio that have been edited or generated using AI – will have to be labelled clearly, so they cannot be mistaken for authentic recordings.
Enforcement and penalties
Enforcement is carried out by national market surveillance authorities, the AI Office, and the European Data Protection Supervisor (when EU institutions act as providers or deployers). Violations can lead to substantial fines:
| Offender | Maximum fine |
|---|---|
| Companies | €15 million or up to 3% of total worldwide annual turnover |
| EU institutions, bodies and agencies | €750,000 |
However, there is a grace period for generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026: they have until December 2026 to comply with the marking obligation under Article 50(2) of the AI Act, as amended by the AI Omnibus.
Guidelines and voluntary commitments
The European Commission has published guidelines on the transparency obligations for providers and deployers of AI systems, clarifying definitions, exemptions and practical examples of what is in and out of scope. The Commission has also published a press release on enforcement and answers to frequently asked questions on Article 50.
Finally, the Commission published a first list of more than 180 organisations that have signed the Code of Practice on transparency of AI-generated content, which operationalises the rules on marking AI-generated content.