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Reference · EU AI Act

EU AI Act timeline and deadlines

Every date that matters, including the changes made by the Digital Omnibus in 2026. The countdown updates daily.

Last checked 3 October 2026
What's in force and when425 days until the high-risk rules apply
  1. Banned practicesArt. 5Certain uses of AI are prohibited outright, such as social scoring, manipulative techniques, and emotion recognition in the workplace or in education.In force
  2. General-purpose AI modelsChapter VObligations for the companies that build general-purpose AI models. Most SMEs use these models rather than build them.In force
  3. Transparency dutiesArt. 50People must be told when they are dealing with AI, when content is AI-generated or manipulated, and when emotion recognition or biometric categorisation is used on them.In force
  4. High-risk uses: hiring, credit and moreAnnex IIIFull obligations for AI used in high-stakes decisions about people: recruitment and employment, creditworthiness, insurance pricing, education and access to essential services. Moved from August 2026 by the Digital Omnibus.In 425 days
  5. AI in regulated productsAnnex IHigh-risk AI built into products already covered by EU safety law, such as machinery, medical devices and vehicles.In 669 days

Each deadline in detail

2 February 2025: Banned practices

Certain uses of AI are prohibited outright, such as social scoring, manipulative techniques, and emotion recognition in the workplace or in education.

Art. 5

2 August 2025: General-purpose AI models

Obligations for the companies that build general-purpose AI models. Most SMEs use these models rather than build them.

Chapter V

2 August 2026: Transparency duties

People must be told when they are dealing with AI, when content is AI-generated or manipulated, and when emotion recognition or biometric categorisation is used on them.

Art. 50

2 December 2027: High-risk uses: hiring, credit and more

Full obligations for AI used in high-stakes decisions about people: recruitment and employment, creditworthiness, insurance pricing, education and access to essential services. Moved from August 2026 by the Digital Omnibus.

Annex III

2 August 2028: AI in regulated products

High-risk AI built into products already covered by EU safety law, such as machinery, medical devices and vehicles.

Annex I

What the Digital Omnibus changed

The Digital Omnibus on AI was agreed on 7 May 2026 and adopted in June 2026. Its main changes to the timeline:

  • High-risk AI in Annex III (employment, credit, insurance, education, essential services) moved from 2 August 2026 to 2 December 2027.
  • High-risk AI in regulated products (Annex I) moved from 2 August 2027 to 2 August 2028.
  • Transparency duties under Article 50 kept their 2 August 2026 date. Generative AI systems already on the market before that date have until 2 December 2026 to add machine-readable marking of AI-generated content (Art. 50(2)).
  • A new ban on AI that generates non-consensual intimate imagery or child sexual abuse material, with a transition to 2 December 2026.
  • AI literacy (Art. 4) became a duty to support staff literacy rather than to ensure a set level.
Dates can still move. We track the European Commission, the AI Office and Irish authorities weekly and update this page when anything changes.

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