What is the EU AI Act?
The EU AI Act is the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689). It creates a common framework for placing AI on the EU market and using it. Its rules distinguish prohibited practices, high-risk AI, certain applications with transparency obligations and general-purpose AI models.
The applicable obligations depend on the particular system, its use and the organisation’s role. A provider developing a system or supplying it under its own name has different responsibilities from a deployer using an existing tool professionally.
Practical example
A small online shop uses AI to draft product descriptions and operate a customer-service chatbot. The team records its tools, reviews their outputs and supports appropriate AI literacy. For the chatbot, it also checks how visitors are clearly informed that they are interacting with AI. This is an illustration, not a complete compliance assessment.
What to watch out for
- Assess each use separately; not every AI application is a high-risk system.
- Check the particular transparency rules and exceptions. AI-assisted texts do not all require the same label.
- Support AI literacy appropriate to the context; Article 4 does not require a universal compulsory certificate.
- Also consider data protection, copyright and current application dates.
EU context: this regulation is not a worldwide AI law. Organisations outside the EU can also fall within its scope where the relevant EU connection exists. This is general editorial information, not advice for an individual case. Sources checked: 27 October 2026.