When does the chatbot disclosure obligation apply?

The transparency obligations under Art. 50 EU AI Act – and with them the disclosure obligation for chatbots and voice widgets – apply from 2 August 2026. From that date, every affected AI system that interacts directly with users must meet the requirements for clear, distinguishable and accessible disclosure.

For website operators with chat or voice widgets, this means in practice: if you already use an AI-powered widget today, you should review the disclosure in good time before the deadline and add it where needed, rather than waiting until shortly before. The technical implementation is usually manageable – a visible notice in or next to the widget is usually enough. The real effort lies more in systematically reviewing your own website, especially if you run several domains, landing pages or subpages.

If you are currently planning to introduce a new chat or voice widget, you should think about the disclosure obligation from the start – then the deadline is no longer a problem, just an item that is already ticked off the checklist.

You can find a practical self-test to see whether your website is affected, as well as ready-made example wordings, in the full guide to the chatbot disclosure obligation. If you want to know even faster, you can also have your website checked automatically with the free AI Act check.