What applies under the EU AI Act from August 2026?

The EU AI Act, formally Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, entered into force in August 2024, but its rules switch on in stages. Article 113 sets the general date of application at August 2, 2026, which is this coming Sunday. For months, that date was expected to bring the bulk of the obligations, including the detailed requirements for high-risk AI. That changed in July.

On June 29, 2026, the Council of the EU gave its final approval to a package called the Digital Omnibus on AI, part of the EU's effort to simplify its rules. It was signed on July 8 as Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, published in the Official Journal on July 24 and entered into force three days later. Its main effect is to postpone the high-risk rules while leaving the general date in place. This article explains what the official texts now say; it is general information, not legal advice.

Two roles to know

The Act assigns duties by role. A provider develops an AI system or general-purpose model, or has one developed, and offers it under its own name. A deployer uses an AI system in a professional capacity; a private person using a chatbot at home is not a deployer. The Act reaches providers outside the EU that sell into the EU, and can also apply when the output of an AI system is used in the EU.

What starts on August 2, 2026

The main obligations that take effect are the transparency duties in Article 50:

The information must be given clearly, at the latest at the first interaction or exposure. One adjustment from the Omnibus: generative systems already on the market before August 2, 2026 have until December 2, 2026 to add the content marking.

The general date also brings the European Commission's power to fine providers of general-purpose AI models under Article 101, which had been held back when the rest of the model rules began in August 2025.

What has moved

The Omnibus explains the delay by the late arrival of technical standards, guidance and national authorities, which made the original date hard to meet. Earlier rules are unchanged: the banned practices and the AI literacy duty have applied since February 2025, and the obligations for general-purpose AI models since August 2025. The Omnibus did rewrite the AI literacy article. Providers and deployers must take measures to support the AI skills of staff who operate or use AI systems, without having to guarantee a set level, and the Commission is to publish practical examples.

What should a small business check?

Start with an inventory. A typical small business is a deployer, using tools made by others: a chatbot on its website, an image generator for social posts, an AI writing assistant, perhaps AI features in its hiring software. A few also build tools and so act as providers.

Then work through this short checklist, adapted from the duties above:

1. Website or messaging chatbot: does it make clear to customers that they are talking to AI? If you built it yourself, that duty is yours as provider; if you bought it, check that the vendor's version does it.
2. Images, video or audio you publish: are realistic AI-generated or altered pieces labelled as such?
3. AI-written articles or notices for the public: either label them, or make sure a named person reviews and takes editorial responsibility.
4. Emotion or biometric tools: if you use any, are people told? Some uses in workplaces and schools are banned outright.
5. Staff skills: can you show what you do to help staff use AI tools competently, such as a short training session and written guidance?
6. High-risk uses: if you use AI to screen job applicants or decide on access to services, note it now. Those rules come in December 2027, and the time is useful for asking vendors what documentation they will provide.

The Omnibus also extends some simplifications, such as proportionate requirements and capped fines, to "small mid-cap" companies, which are slightly larger than SMEs. National authorities may offer guidance to smaller firms, and for anything uncertain, especially a possible high-risk use, a lawyer familiar with the Act is the right next step.