What does theEU AI Act regulate?
The EU AI Act does not apply all at once. Here is which parts already affect your business.
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Discuss AI governance or call: +49 151 1576 5566The EU AI Act, formally Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, is the EU law that governs AI systems. It does not take effect all at once but in stages, and that is where most of the confusion in day-to-day business comes from.
- Since 2 February 2025: Article 4 on AI literacy.
- Since 2 August 2026: transparency obligations under Article 50.
- From 2 December 2027: high-risk rules for systems under Annex III.
- Supervision in Germany: the Bundesnetzagentur, as a general rule.
Which parts of the EU AI Act already apply to your business?
Two articles affect almost every business that works with AI. Article 4 requires providers and deployers to support the AI literacy of their staff, whatever the sector and however large the company. And Article 50 makes sure customers in a chat or on the phone learn at the latest at the first interaction that an AI is answering.
The rules for high-risk systems (software that screens job applicants or checks the creditworthiness of individuals, for example) were actually meant to apply from August 2026. The Digital Omnibus, the amending Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, pushed them back.
How does the EU AI Act treat chatbots and AI agents?
It thinks in roles: whoever places an AI system on the market under their own name is the provider, and whoever uses it professionally under their own authority is the deployer. The requirements for agentic AI under the EU AI Act follow the same pattern, because there is no separate category for AI agents. They count as AI systems under Article 3(1), and what comes on top depends on what you use them for.
Who enforces the EU AI Act in Germany?
Since the German KI-MIG entered into force on 29 July 2026, the Federal Network Agency has as a general rule been the market surveillance authority, point of contact and complaints body. Sectors with their own supervisor keep it, BaFin in finance for example.
Up to 35 million euros or 7 percent of worldwide annual turnover apply to prohibited practices under Article 5, not to the training duty. For breaches of Article 50 the ceiling is 15 million euros or 3 percent, and small and medium-sized enterprises then face the lower amount.
Frequently asked questions
Since when has the EU AI Act applied?
In stages. Article 4 belongs to Chapter I and has therefore applied since February 2025, while for high-risk systems under Annex I things only start on 2 August 2028.
Which AI Act small business obligations apply in 2026?
Article 4 applies regardless of company size, so measures for AI literacy are required even in a small team. If an AI talks to customers, the Article 50 notice comes on top.
Terms you should know in the same context
Providers, deployers, importers and distributors (AI Act) · AI literacy (Article 4) · AI disclosure obligation (Article 50) · Logging obligation (AI Act) · AI governance · Back to the AI glossary A to Z
If you know today which articles already affect your business, you will not have to retrofit under time pressure in 2027.