When does the EU AI Act apply and what are the key 2026 deadlines?
The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) entered into force on 1 August 2024 and applies in phases. Bans on prohibited AI have applied since 2 February 2025; governance and general-purpose AI (GPAI) obligations since 2 August 2025; the transparency rules since 2 August 2026; and, since the Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744), the Annex III high-risk rules apply from 2 December 2027. High-risk systems embedded in already-regulated products have until 2 August 2028.
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