On August 2, 2026, two major categories of EU AI Act obligations take effect: Article 50 transparency requirements for all AI systems, and Chapter V obligations for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models. High-risk AI system obligations do not take effect until August 2, 2027.
EU AI Act August 2, 2026: Everything That Takes Effect
The August 2, 2026 Milestone
The EU AI Act enters force in stages. August 2, 2026 is the second major milestone, following the February 2, 2025 effective date for prohibited AI practices (Article 5) and AI literacy (Article 4).
What Takes Effect
1. Article 50: Transparency Obligations
All AI systems — regardless of risk level — must meet transparency requirements. This includes AI chatbots identifying themselves as AI, deepfake labelling, emotion recognition disclosure, and AI-generated text disclosure.
2. Chapter V: GPAI Model Obligations
Providers of general-purpose AI models (like foundation models and large language models) must comply with transparency and documentation requirements. Models posing systemic risk face additional obligations including adversarial testing and incident reporting.
3. Codes of Practice for GPAI
The AI Office's codes of practice for GPAI models are expected to be finalised by this date. These codes provide detailed compliance guidance and create a presumption of conformity for providers who follow them.
What Does NOT Take Effect Yet
High-risk AI system obligations under Annex III do not take effect until August 2, 2027. This includes conformity assessments, quality management systems, and registration in the EU database. Existing high-risk AI systems already on the market have until August 2, 2027 to comply.
Already in Effect (Since February 2, 2025)
Article 5 prohibited practices (social scoring, subliminal manipulation, exploitation of vulnerabilities, untargeted facial recognition scraping) have been banned since February 2, 2025. Article 4 AI literacy obligations for providers and deployers are also already active.
Countdown: 46 Days
With 46 days remaining, organisations should prioritise: (1) auditing all AI systems for Article 50 transparency obligations, (2) reviewing any GPAI models they provide for Chapter V compliance, and (3) implementing disclosure mechanisms before the deadline.
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