Applicable to: AI providers.
Date of application: 2 august 2026.
Objective: to inform natural persons that they are interacting with an AI system.
Regulation (EU) No 1689/2024 on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) of 13 June 2024 introduced a series of transparency obligations within the European Union for suppliers and deployers of AI systems, even where such systems pose a limited risk (the lowest risk level assigned to certain AI systems under the risk-based approach adopted by the AI Act).
In this article, we will analyse the obligation covered by Article 50.1 of the AI Act, under which it is provided for:
providers shall ensure that AI systems intended to interact directly with natural persons are designed and developed in such a way that the natural persons concerned are informed that they are interacting with an AI system, unless this is obvious from the point of view of a natural person who is reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect, taking into account the circumstances and the context of use. This obligation shall not apply to AI systems authorised by law to detect, prevent, investigate or prosecute criminal offences, subject to appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of third parties, unless those systems are available for the public to report a criminal offence.
The elements that characterise this obligation are:
1) the fact that the AI system is intended to interact directly with natural persons
2) the need for it to be designed and developed in such a way as to inform the natural persons concerned that they are interacting with an AI system
3) unless this is obvious from the point of view of a natural person who is reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect.
To avoid specific risks of impersonation or deception, the AI Act has stipulated that natural persons should be notified that they are interacting with an AI system, unless the virtual nature of the contact person is obvious to a reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect person. In this case, the provider will not be subject to any obligation (for example, when a person with the above-mentioned characteristics is perfectly aware of interacting with a chatbot and not with a real person).
When implementing this obligation, providers should also take into account the characteristics of natural persons belonging to vulnerable groups due to their age or disability, to the extent the AI system is intended to interact with those groups as well (recital 132).
The informations required under this obligation must be provided to the persons concerned in a clear and distinguishable manner at the latest at the time of the first interaction or exposure.
The AI Act has, finally, clarified that this obligation does not apply to AI systems authorised by law to detect, prevent, investigate or prosecute criminal offences.
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