The EU AI Act is the European Union’s law on artificial intelligence. Its official name is Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. It sorts uses of AI into 4 risk levels. Unacceptable uses are banned, high-risk uses carry strict obligations, transparency-risk uses come with disclosure duties, and minimal-risk uses face no new rules. For example, if your website has a chatbot that answers donor questions, the law expects people to be told they are talking to a chatbot.
The law entered into force on August 1, 2024, and applies in stages. The bans and the AI literacy obligations applied from February 2, 2025. General application, including the transparency rules, starts on August 2, 2026. Our timeline for small organizations walks through the dates.
Why it matters
If you work with people in the EU, the AI Act can shape what your AI tools must do and what they must tell people. Pay closest attention to features that talk to the public, make decisions about people, or produce images and audio, such as a deepfake. Ask your vendor which risk level they place their product in and how they meet the transparency rules. The AI Act sits alongside GDPR and belongs in your wider AI governance.
Published Updated
Sources
- European Commission, AI Act, checked October 27, 2026