Commission publishes guidelines on transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems
The European Commission published guidelines to assist providers and deployers of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in meeting the AI Act’s transparency obligations, which start to apply on 2 August 2026.
Transparency obligations will help people recognise when they are interacting with AI or when content has been generated or altered by AI, reducing the risk of deception and manipulation. The guidelines published today clarify which providers and deployers must comply with the transparency obligations for interactive AI systems and the marking and labelling of AI-generated content.
AI Act transparency obligations
Under the AI Act, AI providers will have to design AI systems to inform users when they are directly interacting with an AI and they will have to add machine-readable marks to enable the detection of AI-generated or manipulated content.
Deployers will also have to inform users when they are exposed to deep fakes, to AI-generated content on matters of public interest without human review or editorial control, and to emotion recognition or biometric categorisation systems.
The guidelines explain certain concepts, give exemptions and examples. These include what constitutes directly interactive AI systems, such as chatbots, synthetic content, including partially or fully AI-generated text, deepfakes, and AI-generated text on matters of public interest, as well as examples for relevant exceptions such as standard editing, e.g. spelling and grammar correction.
Finally, the guidelines explain how compliance with the transparency obligations of the AI Act may be demonstrated, including through adherence to a code of practice, which provides legal certainty and a simple and practical way to demonstrate compliance with the AI Act.
„With today’s guidelines, the Commission supports the smooth and effective application of the AI Act to make AI systems interacting with people such as chatbots and AI agents and AI content more transparent and trustworthy. These guidelines support providers and deployers in meeting their obligations under the AI Act, while helping citizens know when they are interacting with AI.” – said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.
Background
The Commission’s Guidelines on the AI Act’s transparency guidelines complement the Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-generated content. The Code of Practice was drafted by independent experts with input from hundreds of stakeholders. The Commission and the AI Board confirmed that the Code is an adequate, voluntary means which the providers and deployers of AI can rely on to demonstrate compliance with the AI Act.
To help organisations better understand their AI Act obligations, the Commission is putting in place a range of tools, including guidelines, the Code of Practice, and also the AI Act Service Desk, an accessible, up-to-date information hub offering clear guidance on the AI Act.
Next steps
On 2 August 2026, the majority of rules laid down in the AI Act start to apply, including the enforcement powers of the Commission and of national market surveillance authorities. AI systems placed on the market before August will have to comply with the marking and detecting obligations from 2 December 2026.
