EU AI transparency rules start next month

From August 2, providers of AI systems in the EU must tell people when they are interacting with a machine and add machine-readable marks to AI-generated or manipulated content. The transparency requirements apply to systems such as chatbots and AI agents, as well as synthetic audio, images, video and text.

Organizations deploying covered systems must disclose deepfakes to people exposed to them. The rules also cover AI-generated or manipulated text published to inform the public on matters of public interest, unless it has undergone human review or editorial control, along with emotion recognition and biometric categorization systems. Standard editing tools, including spelling and grammar correction, are exempt when they do not substantially alter the input.

Most of the AI Act will apply from August 2, and the European Commission will gain powers to enforce rules for general-purpose AI models. The AI Act entered into force in August 2024 after being proposed in 2021, with rules introduced in stages. General-purpose AI provisions came into force in 2025, while rules for standalone high-risk AI systems are due from December 2, 2027, and high-risk systems embedded in regulated products have been pushed back to August 2, 2028.