The AI Act dates that matter — and the documents behind them

Timeline

What applies when

1. 2024-08-01In force

   AI Act enters into force

   The regulation is law from this date; obligations switch on in stages listed below.

   — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Art. 113

2. 2025-02-02In force

   Prohibited practices ban + AI literacy duty apply

   Banned AI practices (Art. 5) and the duty to ensure staff AI literacy (Art. 4) apply to providers and deployers — including businesses that merely use AI tools.

   — Art. 113(a)

3. 2026-07-22In force

   Transparency Code of Practice — signature window closes

   Companies wishing to sign the voluntary Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content must do so by 18:00 CEST.

   — European Commission, digital-strategy

4. 2026-08-02In force

   Article 50 transparency obligations apply

   Visitors must be told when they interact with an AI system (e.g. a chatbot) and when they see AI-generated content. The Digital Omnibus did NOT postpone this date. Fines: up to €15 m / 3 % of turnover; SMEs pay the lower of the two.

   — Art. 113; Art. 99(4), 99(6)

5. 2026-12-02121 days to go

   Marking grace period ends for pre-existing generative systems

   Providers of generative AI systems placed on the market before 2 August 2026 must meet the Art. 50(2) machine-readable marking duty by this date.

   — Art. 111(4), inserted by the Digital Omnibus (EP text T10-0198/2026, am. 39)

6. 2027-12-02486 days to go

   High-risk obligations apply (Annex III systems)

   Postponed by the Digital Omnibus from the original 2026 date. Relevant if your product itself is a high-risk AI system — not for ordinary websites.

   — Art. 113(3)(c), as amended

7. 2028-08-02730 days to go

   High-risk obligations apply (Annex I regulated products)

   AI safety components in regulated products (machinery, medical devices, etc.) — the last major application date.

   — Art. 113, as amended

Primary sources

Read the documents themselves

Commentary ages; the texts do not. These are the documents this timeline — and the scanner's checks — are built on.

1. 01
   Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — the AI Act, full text ↗EUR-Lex

   The law itself, in all EU languages. It is a regulation — directly applicable in every member state, no national transposition needed for it to bind you.

2. 02
   Article 50 — transparency obligations ↗AI Act Explorer

   The article behind this scanner: people must be told when they interact with an AI system and when they see AI-generated content. Annotated per-paragraph view.

3. 03
   Article 99 — penalties ↗AI Act Explorer

   Article 50 breaches: fines up to €15 million or 3 % of worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher — for SMEs, whichever is lower.

4. 04
   European Commission AI Act hub ↗European Commission

   Where guidelines, codes of practice and official timelines land first. The pages this watch monitors for changes.

5. 05
   Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content ↗European Commission

   Voluntary code (final version 10 June 2026) describing how signatories mark and disclose AI-generated content in practice.

6. 06
   Lithuania: RRT designated as AI market-surveillance authority ↗RRT

   Enforcement is national. Example from our home market: Lithuania's communications regulator RRT supervises AI Act compliance and serves as the single contact point.

Update log

What changed, and when we logged it

2026-07-14

Watch page published. Every date above verified against the primary texts (EUR-Lex, EP adopted text T10-0198/2026, Commission digital-strategy pages).

2026-07-08

Digital Omnibus signed. Article 50 dates unchanged; a marking grace period until 2 December 2026 added for pre-existing generative systems (new Art. 111(4)); high-risk dates postponed to 2027/2028.

2026-06-10

Final Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content published by the Commission; voluntary signature window open until 22 July 2026.