The EU AI Act delay: what moves and what doesn’t
EU lawmakers agreed to push back the high-risk AI rules. Transparency duties and the bans stay. And it isn’t law yet.
On 7 May the EU Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement, part of the “digital omnibus”, to delay key parts of the AI Act. If it’s formally adopted:
- Rules for stand-alone high-risk AI systems, the Annex III list such as hiring, credit scoring and education, move from August 2026 to 2 December 2027.
- High-risk AI built into regulated products, such as medical devices and machinery, moves to 2 August 2028.
- The transparency duties, like telling people they’re talking to an AI and labelling some generated content, largely keep their August 2026 schedule.
- A new ban is added on AI that generates non-consensual intimate images and child abuse material.
It only takes effect once published in the EU’s Official Journal, expected before August.
If you sell AI features into Europe, don’t stop your preparation. Use the extra time to do the inventory and documentation properly, instead of in a rush.