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Guides

Reference guides for the AI buyer

Regulation, compliance and procurement decisions — dated, itemised and sourced.

2026-09-26

EU AI Act: what actually takes effect on 2 August 2026

On 2 August 2026 the EU AI Act's transparency duties become enforceable; high-risk moved to December 2027. The corrected timeline, penalties and who is bound.

Who these guides are for

Decision-makers in organisations that buy AI, use it, or sell products containing it: general managers, IT, compliance and legal, procurement and HR. Each guide gives dates, cites the article and links to the official source.

Where to start

First see which risk tier your systems fall into: the EU AI Act risk classifier gives a direction in a few questions. Then the compliance timeline shows which obligation starts on which date.

If the result concerns you, the next step is an inventory: every AI system running in the organisation, including purchased tools.

EU AI Act: key dates

DateWhat happened / what starts
1 August 2024Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 entered into force
2 February 2025Prohibited practices and Article 4 (AI literacy) started to apply
2 August 2025Obligations for general-purpose AI model providers
27 July 2026Digital Omnibus — Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 entered into force
2 August 2026Article 50 transparency duties became enforceable
2 December 2027High-risk systems (Annex III) — date as postponed by the Omnibus
2 August 2028High-risk systems (Annex I, product legislation) — date as postponed by the Omnibus

Frequently asked

Frequently asked

Does the EU AI Act apply to companies outside the EU?

Yes, where a system's output is used in the EU or the product is placed on the EU market. Details and dates are in the compliance timeline guide.

How often are the guides updated?

Whenever the law changes. Each guide shows its last-updated date and source list.

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