AI chatbots: users must be able to tell they are not speaking to a person

What happened?

On 12 November 2026, the Official Journal published Commission guidelines on implementing the transparency obligations in Article 50 of the AI Act. They cover chatbots and other systems intended to interact directly with people.

The guidelines are not legally binding and do not introduce a general ban on AI. They explain obligations under the Regulation; authoritative interpretation ultimately rests with the Court of Justice of the European Union.

What does this mean for your business?

Article 50(1) places the relevant design and development obligation on providers. People must be informed that they are interacting with AI unless this is obvious under the circumstances and context of use. Article 50(5) requires clear, distinguishable information no later than the first interaction.

The Commission explains that a disclosure only in terms and conditions or technical documentation is insufficient. Calling a service an “assistant” may also be ambiguous. Human-like customer support should not assume that users will recognise the technology.

Check your business’s role: developing or providing a system is not automatically the same as using a ready-made service. Agree with the supplier who implements the notice and how it reaches users.

Who is affected?

Businesses providing AI chatbots, voice assistants or agents, and businesses using them in customer support, online shops or other customer channels. Assess whether the AI Act applies to the particular system and business role.

What should you do?

Magilex recommends testing the channel as a first-time user. A clear notice such as “You are chatting with an AI assistant” should be visible at the start, rather than only in separate policies. Consider a spoken disclosure for voice interactions.

Check accessibility and each language offered. If relying on the obvious-interaction exception, assess the actual audience and context. The guidelines’ design examples are implementation assistance, not the only permitted technical solutions.

Key dates

12 November 2026 — publication of the Commission guidelines.

The guidelines confirm that the direct-interaction disclosure requirement applies from 2 August 2026. Publication of the guidelines does not postpone it. Machine-readable marking of generated content is a separate issue outside this article.