EU AI Act
Also known as: AI Act, AI Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is the world’s first comprehensive AI regulation. It entered into force in August 2024 and applies in stages. This entry provides factual orientation. It is not legal advice.
Risk-based approach
The AI Act assigns every application to one of four classes: unacceptable, high, limited and minimal risk. The higher the risk, the stricter the obligations. Prohibited practices such as social scoring are banned. What this means in operation is covered in Responsible AI & AI Act compliance.
What applies as of October 2026
Since 02.02.2025: the prohibitions and the AI literacy obligation, which the Digital Omnibus simplifies. Since 02.08.2025: obligations for GPAI models: transparency, copyright policy, training data summaries. Since 02.08.2026, enforcement has begun and the EU AI Office has full powers over GPAI providers.
What is being postponed
The “Digital Omnibus on AI” has been adopted: Parliament approved it on 16.06.2026 and the Council gave its final green light on 29.06.2026. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 was published in the Official Journal on 24.07.2026 and entered into force on 27.07.2026. It postpones the high-risk obligations: standalone systems (Annex III) to 02.12.2027, systems embedded in regulated products (Annex I) to 02.08.2028. The GPAI obligations and the 02.08.2026 enforcement date are unaffected. New prohibitions, for example on certain deepfakes, also apply from 02.12.2026.
Why GPT, Claude & Co. are affected
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are built on GPAI models. The GPAI obligations target their providers. Many have signed the GPAI Code of Practice. Companies as deployers mainly carry transparency and literacy obligations.
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Last updated: October 2026
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This article was produced with AI support. Ideation, editorial planning, substantive review and approval rest with a human; copy-editing sits with the AI. Editorial responsibility is held by André Hellmann.