The EU AI Act Went Live on August 2, With Fines Up to 7% of Global Revenue
Europe has entered the enforcement phase of the AI Act. Chatbots must now disclose that they are AI, and generated content must be labelled. The ceiling is €35 million or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover.
The European Union's AI Act moved into enforcement on August 2, 2026. From that date the Commission's AI Office, together with national authorities in member states, can issue fines.
Until now the AI Act was largely a legal text. It has teeth now, and it is one of the year's defining technology stories.
How large are the fines?
The ceilings come in three tiers depending on the violation.
For prohibited practices: up to €35 million or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher.
For breaches of the Act's duties, including transparency obligations: up to €15 million or 3% of global turnover.
For supplying incorrect, incomplete or misleading information: up to €7.5 million or 1%.
Seven percent of global revenue is a severe number for a large company, which is precisely why it was chosen.
What actually changes
The part an ordinary user will notice is the transparency rules.
Interactive AI systems must now tell users they are dealing with AI rather than a human. A support chatbot cannot present itself as a real employee.
Deepfake content must be labelled: any image, video or audio generated or altered with AI.
There was a concession
Not every provision landed on the original schedule. Under the Digital Omnibus, signed into law on July 27, the conformity assessment deadline for high-risk AI moved to December 2, 2027.
That was an explicit concession to industry, particularly smaller vendors who argued the original August 2026 deadline was unworkable.
Why it matters beyond Europe
If you build a product with European users, these rules apply to you even if your company sits elsewhere. The same framework shapes deployments like Uber and Pony.ai's robotaxi rollout in Europe.
More broadly, GDPR showed what happens when Europe sets a standard: companies usually apply it globally, because maintaining two versions of a product costs more than complying everywhere.
Which likely means the "generated with AI" label is coming to a screen near you. 💡
