New Transparency Rules for AI-Enabled Businesses
The European Commission has published guidelines on transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems under the EU AI Act. These rules will apply broadly from August 2, 2026, and may affect not only large model providers but also companies, authorities, and other organizations that professionally use AI systems. Businesses that offer chatbots, AI agents, or avatars must inform people clearly that they are interacting with an AI system, unless this is already obvious. Additionally, generative systems for text, images, audio, and video must mark their outputs in a machine-readable way to enable the recognition of AI-generated or manipulated content.
Key Takeaways from the EU AI Act Guidelines
The EU AI Act guidelines emphasize the importance of transparency in AI development and deployment. To ensure compliance, businesses must clearly label AI-generated content, including deepfakes and AI-generated texts on topics of public interest. However, a mere spell-check or grammar check is not enough to meet the requirements. Organizations and individuals using AI professionally must also be aware of potential risks and limitations, such as the need for human review and editing, and the potential for brand accuracy issues or hallucinations.
What businesses should do now
- Review your current AI systems and applications to determine which ones will be impacted by the new transparency obligations.
- Develop a plan to implement necessary labeling and marking of AI-generated content, including deepfakes and AI-generated texts on topics of public interest.
- Establish procedures for human review and editing of AI-generated content to ensure brand accuracy and prevent hallucinations.
Why it matters
The EU AI Act’s new transparency obligations are a critical step towards building trust in AI systems and ensuring their safe and responsible development and deployment. Businesses that fail to comply with these obligations risk significant fines of up to 15 million euros or three percent of their global annual turnover. Moreover, non-compliance can damage reputation and erode customer trust. Therefore, it is essential for businesses to take immediate action to understand and implement the new transparency requirements.
Source
EU Icons for labelling AI-generated content
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-icons-labelling-ai-generated-content