Guides · Updated 2026-10-22

Article 50 chatbot notice: the 20-minute checklist for a small website

If your website has a chat widget that answers with AI, Article 50(1) of the EU AI Act applies to it. The duty has applied since 2 August 2026 and the 2026 Digital Omnibus did not delay it. Here is what to do, in the order that matters.

1. Find out whether your chat is an AI system

Most chat vendors now sell an AI assistant alongside human live chat (Intercom’s Fin, Tidio’s Lyro, Crisp’s AI, HubSpot’s Breeze, Zendesk AI agents). If the AI answers visitors on its own, even just the first message, the widget is an AI system that interacts with people. If a person always answers, Article 50(1) does not apply to that chat.

Check in your vendor dashboard which mode is on. Take a screenshot with the date; it belongs in your record.

2. Make the notice visible at the moment of first interaction

The Commission’s guidelines of 20 July 2026 describe the notice as something the person must be able to perceive when they start interacting. In practice:

• a line in the chat window before or with the first message, such as “You’re chatting with an AI assistant”;
• in the visitor’s language, where your site serves several;
• readable by assistive technology (real text, not an image);
• not only in the terms of service, a privacy policy or a footer.

Many vendors have a setting for this. Turn it on and keep it on. If your vendor has none, add the notice yourself with a small script or in the widget’s welcome message.

3. Check the other three duties

• Emotion recognition or biometric categorisation (50(3)): rare on small sites. If you use it, people must be told.
• Deepfakes (50(4)): AI images, audio or video that resemble real people, places or events need a visible disclosure.
• AI-written text on matters of public interest (50(4)): label it, unless a person reviewed it and takes editorial responsibility.

Ordinary AI-generated product images or marketing copy are generally not in these categories; the vendor that made the generator carries the machine-readable marking duty of 50(2).

4. Keep a record

Nobody files Article 50 paperwork, but you will be asked to show what you did if a client, a DPO or an authority asks. Keep:

• which AI systems you use, from which vendor, since when;
• where the notice appears and its wording, with a dated screenshot;
• written answers from vendors about how they handle marking;
• the date you last reviewed all of this. Review at least yearly.

5. Know the stakes without panicking

Article 50 breaches sit in the middle penalty tier: up to €15 million or 3% of worldwide turnover, and for SMEs the lower of the two applies. Enforcement is by national market surveillance authorities, most of which are still staffing up in 2026. The sensible posture is to be visibly in order, not to be first.

General information, not legal advice. Check the Regulation text and the Commission's guidelines, or ask a lawyer, for your case.