EU begins enforcing AI Act transparency rules

From 2 August 2026, the European Commission’s AI Office and national authorities will begin enforcing the AI Act, alongside new transparency rules for certain AI systems. The requirements are designed to make clear when people are interacting with AI and when content has been generated or altered by it.

Chatbots and other interactive AI systems will need to tell users they are dealing with AI rather than a human. Deepfakes, including AI-edited or AI-generated images, videos and audio, will have to be labelled, while AI-generated or altered content must carry machine-readable marks to support detection.

The Commission says the measures are intended to reduce deception and manipulation, help people make informed choices and give businesses clearer compliance obligations. It also 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 transparency rules.