Article 50 · what applies to you
Four cases. Two for whoever builds the system and two for whoever uses it.
If you act as a provider
Make it clear it is AI.
- It talks to people (50(1)). Design the system so people know they are talking to an AI, unless it is obvious.
- It generates text, images, audio or video (50(2)). Mark what it generates in a machine-readable format, so it can be detected as artificial.
If you act as a deployer
Tell whoever sees it.
- It recognises emotions or categorises people by biometric data (50(3)). Inform the people exposed to it.
- You publish deepfakes or texts on matters of public interest (50(4)). Disclose that they are artificial. The text is exempt if a person reviews it and someone holds editorial responsibility for it.
How to tell your role with a chatbot
- You buy it ready-made and use it as is on your website. The provider is whoever sells it to you. You are the deployer.
- You build it on a model's API and offer it under your name. You are the provider of that system. That does not make you the provider of the model.
- In both cases, check the contract. What disclosure it includes, what marking it applies and who maintains it.
Timeline
It already applies.
Since when
- Art. 50
- Art. 50(2) · Art. 111(4)
The chatbot disclosure was not postponed. Marking for systems already on the market has a transitional period.
Dates measured on September 11, 2026 against ../vigilancia-regulatoria/fuentes.yaml (69a40d9). They are not copied from any other page of ours.
Non-compliance can cost up to €15 million or 3% of worldwide annual turnover. For an SME, the lower of the two amounts applies.
If you have a chatbot
The disclosure is simple. Show it in time.
- Clear and before it starts. At the latest at the first interaction, and accessible (50(5)).
- Think of your audience. The Commission reads "obvious" narrowly: what a typical user of your audience would recognise, in context.
- If it generates text, marking applies too. Article 50(2) covers systems built on general-purpose AI models.
Marking and the code of practice
- The Commission adopted the Article 50 guidelines on 20 July 2026.
- For marking, the Commission recognises the code of practice on transparency of AI-generated content. It is voluntary.
- If you do not follow it, you have to show compliance by other equivalent means.
- If you use someone else's model, ask what marking it applies and keep the answer.
Beyond disclosure
Your customers expect the chatbot to get it right.
- A chatbot can make up a price, a feature or a deadline. You answer for it to your customer.
- It can be manipulated with instructions hidden in what people write to it.
- It can reveal data it should not.
That is why we start with two things:
- Govern. What AI you use, what each system is under the AI Act and who answers for it: the AI inventory.
- Evaluate. We test your chatbot with your real cases before your customers do: the evaluation of a third-party AI system.
Sources
Check the text.
- Article 50 of the consolidated AI Act, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744.
- Commission guidelines on transparency obligations.
- Commission news on their publication.
- Fines are set in Article 99 of the same Regulation.
If your system may be high-risk, see the high-risk guide. If you are unsure of your role, see the provider and deployer guide.
