Law explained

AI Act chatbot disclosure: what your chatbot must say

If customers chat with an AI on your website, WhatsApp, or phone line, Article 50(1) applies to that interaction. The rule: people must be informed they’re interacting with an AI system, unless it’s obvious to a reasonably well-informed person.

What a good disclosure looks like

Clear, upfront, in the user’s language: a persistent badge or first message — “You’re chatting with an AI assistant.” Not buried in terms. Not shown after ten messages. Art. 50(5): at the latest at first interaction, clearly and distinguishably.

The channels people forget

The duty follows the AI, not the website: WhatsApp bots (put the notice in the greeting message), voice assistants on phone lines (one spoken sentence at the start), Messenger/Instagram auto-agents. We provide wording for each in the Kit.

The “obvious” exemption

If it’s genuinely obvious you’re an AI, the strict duty doesn’t bite. The bar is the average customer’s perception — and human-like chat interfaces have made “obvious” a hard argument. A one-line notice removes the question entirely. The exemption, examined →

What about human handoff?

If a human takes over the chat, nothing in Art. 50 requires disclosing that — but the reverse switch (human → AI) re-triggers the logic. Simplest robust practice: label the AI part clearly, always.

Implementation in 2 minutes

This is exactly what our hosted widget does — notice, styling, languages, updates. See it live →

Sources are cited in place; official text: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. This guide is a technical explanation, not legal advice.