EU AI Act Begins Enforcing Transparency Rules for Chatbots and Synthetic Media

The European Union began enforcing transparency obligations under the EU AI Act on August 2, 2026, requiring providers of chatbots and generative AI systems to clearly disclose when users are interacting with artificial intelligence.

Under Article 50 of the Act, providers of systems designed to interact directly with people, including chatbots, virtual assistants, and AI agents, must inform users that they are interacting with an AI system. This notification must be clear and provided no later than the time of the first interaction.

Providers of generative AI systems must also ensure that outputs, including text, audio, images, and video, are marked in a machine-readable format and detectable as artificially generated or manipulated. Generative AI systems already on the market before August 2 have until December 2, 2026, to meet specific machine-readable marking requirements.

Deployers of AI used to create deepfakes must disclose that the content has been artificially generated or manipulated. Deployers publishing AI-generated text intended to inform the public on matters of public interest must also disclose its artificial nature, unless the content has undergone substantive human review and editorial control.

Enforcement is shared between national market surveillance authorities and the European AI Office. Companies face fines of up to 15 million euros or 3 percent of their global annual turnover for non-compliance. EU institutions and bodies face fines of up to 750,000 euros.

In the United States, California's SB 942 AI Transparency Act also became operative in August 2026, mandating provenance tagging for AI-generated content.

The European Commission released guidelines to assist stakeholders in achieving compliance, including a voluntary Code of Practice on the transparency of AI-generated content that uses standardized labeling such as specific icons to signify AI-generated or manipulated content.