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Free EU AI Act check: which duties apply to you?
Every business that uses AI has had an AI literacy duty since 2 February 2025, and the transparency rules for chatbots, deepfakes and AI-generated content apply since 2 August 2026. High-risk uses such as recruitment, credit scoring, education or insurance pricing follow on 2 December 2027, after the Digital Omnibus on AI postponed them. Answer four questions to see which duties apply to you, since or from when, and what to do next.
Check your AI Act duties
Answer the questions below. Your result appears as soon as the required answers are given.
Your result appears here once the questions above are answered.
General information as of October 2026, not legal advice. For decisions about a specific system, consult a qualified lawyer.
Key AI Act dates
The AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, applies in stages. The Digital Omnibus on AI, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force since 27 July 2026, moved the high-risk dates.
| Date | What applies |
|---|---|
| February 2, 2025 | Bans on prohibited AI practices; AI literacy duty for every provider and deployer |
| August 2, 2025 | Obligations for general-purpose AI models: developers of the models, not businesses using them |
| August 2, 2026 | Transparency: chatbot notices, deepfake disclosure, marking of AI-generated content |
| December 2, 2026 | End of the marking transition for systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 |
| December 2, 2027 | High-risk uses in Annex III, e.g. recruitment, credit scoring, education, life and health insurance (postponed from 2 August 2026) |
| August 2, 2028 | High-risk AI in products under EU product legislation, Annex I (postponed from 2 August 2027) |
How this check works
The check maps your answers to the AI Act duties that matter most for businesses and compares each date with today, so a status changes from “applies from” to “applies since” on its own. It covers common business uses, not every case: prohibited practices and the rules for developers of general-purpose models are only listed in the table above.
Frequently asked questions
Does the AI Act apply to a small business that only uses ChatGPT-style tools?
Yes, in part. A business that uses AI systems in its work is a deployer, and since 2 February 2025 it must make sure that staff dealing with AI have sufficient AI literacy (Article 4). There is no fixed curriculum: a short training or written guidelines that match how you use AI are a practical way to cover it. Further duties depend on what the AI does.
Do I have to tell customers they are talking to a chatbot?
Yes. Since 2 August 2026, Article 50 requires that people are told when they interact with an AI system. The duty sits with the provider and the deployer, so whoever built your chat widget or voice assistant, make sure a clear notice appears to your customers.
Is my chatbot a high-risk AI system?
Not just because it uses AI. A chatbot becomes high-risk only if it performs one of the listed high-risk functions, for example screening job applicants, assessing creditworthiness or deciding admissions in education. A customer-service or sales chatbot is covered by the transparency duty instead.
Do I have to label AI-generated images and texts?
Since 2 August 2026, deepfakes, meaning realistic AI images, audio or video of real people, places or events, must be disclosed as artificially generated or manipulated, and AI-generated content must be marked. Providers of generative systems mark the output in a machine-readable way; for systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 that transition ends on 2 December 2026. Businesses that publish such content should label it where the rules require it.
When do the high-risk rules apply?
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the Digital Omnibus on AI, was published in the Official Journal on 24 July 2026 and has been in force since 27 July 2026. It moved the high-risk uses listed in Annex III, such as recruitment and worker management, credit scoring, education and life or health insurance pricing, from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027. High-risk AI built into products under EU product legislation (Annex I) moved from 2 August 2027 to 2 August 2028.
What happens if a business ignores the AI Act?
National authorities can impose fines, which the AI Act sets in tiers, with lower caps for SMEs. The bans on prohibited AI practices and the AI literacy duty have applied since 2 February 2025, so they are the first things to check. This tool gives general information as of October 2026, not legal advice.