Current implementation timeline
EU AI Act timeline after the 2026 AI Omnibus
The general application date has arrived, but the rules do not all start on the same day. The 2026 AI Omnibus moved important high-risk dates.
Dates teams should put on the calendar
| Date | Operational meaning |
|---|---|
| August 1, 2024 | The AI Act entered into force. |
| February 2, 2025 | Prohibited-practice rules, definitions, and the original AI literacy provisions started to apply. |
| August 2, 2025 | Governance rules and obligations for general-purpose AI models began to apply. |
| August 2, 2026 | Most remaining provisions became applicable. Article 50 transparency requirements also started, including notices for certain interactive AI systems and marking or labelling duties for specified generated or altered content. |
| December 2, 2026 | The limited grace period ends for the Article 50(2) marking and detection obligation on qualifying systems placed on the market before August 2, 2026. |
| December 2, 2027 | High-risk obligations for Annex III use cases are scheduled to apply after the AI Omnibus extension. |
| August 2, 2028 | High-risk obligations for AI embedded in regulated products covered by Annex I are scheduled to apply. |
What changed for a product team in 2026
Transparency is now an active implementation task. A chatbot or another interactive AI system may need to tell people they are interacting with AI. Providers of systems that generate specified synthetic content may need machine-readable marking, while deployers have separate disclosure duties for deepfakes and certain public-interest text.
The later high-risk dates do not turn current preparation into optional work. Teams still need an inventory, intended-purpose record, vendor evidence, data and oversight notes, and a clear owner. Those records make it possible to decide which later date applies.
A practical review order
- Screen for prohibited practices before launch.
- Identify whether the product is an interactive system, generative system, general-purpose model, deployer workflow, or a possible Annex III or Annex I high-risk system.
- Implement Article 50 notices and marking where the current rules apply.
- Keep the classification facts and official source date with the product record.
- Recheck the Commission guidance when the product purpose, market, or model provider changes.
Run the preliminary risk classifier