I won’t bore you with a long article on AI disclosure rules.
Instead, try this. Seven real examples. Everything below was made or touched by AI. That part’s confirmed. What you’re deciding is whether it should have been disclosed.
The rule, in one line
From 2 August 2026, EU AI Act Article 50 requires certain AI-made or AI-mediated content to be clearly disclosed. Not everything. Just certain things.
Who this actually applies to
Not just EU-based companies. If your content targets or reaches customers in the EU, sales, shipping, service, you’re in scope, regardless of where the business is registered. A US-only company selling only to US customers isn’t affected. A Belfast business shipping to customers in Dublin is.
Let’s start the test.
Everything below was made or touched by AI. That part’s confirmed. What you’re deciding is whether it should have been disclosed.
Article 50 also covers emotion recognition and biometric categorisation, and it sounds like a Big Tech problem. It usually isn’t. These features tend to arrive quietly, bundled into a tool bought for something else entirely, often added through an update long after purchase, not something anyone actively chose.
- Call centre or CRM software with built-in tone or sentiment detection on calls
- “Smart” CCTV or footfall counters that also estimate age or mood
- Video interview platforms scoring tone or expression, not just answers
- Workplace tools tracking webcam attention or engagement
The rule says “clearly disclosed.” It doesn’t say exactly where. In practice, some formats hold up better than others.
- On the image or video itself — a visible label or watermark on the content. The safest option, it travels with the content even if it’s screenshotted or reposted elsewhere.
- In the caption or post text — better than nothing, but easy to lose. Screenshot or repost without the caption, and the disclosure disappears with it.
- Platform AI labels — Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and others now offer built-in “AI-generated” tags. Worth using, but don’t rely on the platform to catch it automatically, self-declare and add your own label too.
- Alt text — good for accessibility, but invisible to most people scrolling past. Shouldn’t be the only disclosure.
- Print — no metadata, no caption that travels separately. The label has to be printed directly on the piece itself, a small credit line stating AI was used.
Illustrative examples for general awareness. Not legal advice, every business’s obligations depend on how AI is actually used. Aiforya · AI Literacy · AI Confidence · Northern Ireland & Ireland