GuidanceGuidancev1.0.0

What does not suffice on its own as an AI disclosure

A line in the terms and conditions, a hidden metadata mark or a vague word like 'assistant' will not do. The guidelines name five methods that are insufficient when used alone.

The official source remains authoritative. This is general information about obligations and not legal advice. See this object on the map

Address and citation

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Identifier: praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods
Payload hash (sha256): a61216744fea363ea209be6924027e8a4cc59cac559a7cc92505d51bc300c12c

Citation line

Praxikon, "What does not suffice on its own as an AI disclosure", praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods@1.0.0, dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0), effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-14T00:00:00.000Z, sha256 a61216744fea363ea209be6924027e8a4cc59cac559a7cc92505d51bc300c12c

Version: 1.0.0
Legal time (effective_at): 8 August 2026
Knowledge time (known_at): 8 August 2026
Closed on: Not closed
Topics: guidance

Review status: Placed against the official source (8 August 2026). Next check due by 4 February 2027. The check date is the knowledge date of this version; no later recheck has been recorded.

What this object links to

Every relation appears below as a path: from the source with its locator, through the conditions and exceptions of the object carrying the relation, to the consequence. A locator belongs to a statement in the data and not to a relation, so the source is the source anchor of the carrying object.

The obligation this hangs off

1 of 1 shown

The object belongs to this obligation. The source line it hangs off sits there.

Source
Official fact on this object, with its locator.
- Guidelines on Article 50
  Locator: Commission Guidelines C(2026) 5054 final, Section 3.1.2 point (38) and Section 7.1 point (142)
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-article-50-guidelines
  Open official source
Via
- Condition | allApplies to every disclosure under Article 50, because Article 50(5) requires information to be provided in a clear and distinguishable manner and to conform to applicable accessibility requirements.
Consequence
- ObligationArticle 50: transparency
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:obligation:article-50-transparency

What this object is about

2 of 2 shown

The object is about this role. Undifferentiated: it does not follow that the duty rests on this role.

Source
Official fact on this object, with its locator.
- Guidelines on Article 50
  Locator: Commission Guidelines C(2026) 5054 final, Section 3.1.2 point (38) and Section 7.1 point (142)
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-article-50-guidelines
  Open official source
Via
- Condition | allApplies to every disclosure under Article 50, because Article 50(5) requires information to be provided in a clear and distinguishable manner and to conform to applicable accessibility requirements.
Consequence
- ActorDeployer
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:deployer
- ActorProvider of an AI system
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:provider

What this object states

Official fact

Attributable to a named primary source, with a locator. Where they differ, the official source prevails.

Point (38) of the guidelines of 20 July 2026 lists techniques that are not necessary and that, when used alone, are insufficient to satisfy Article 50(1) and (5). These are: disclosures contained only in terms and conditions, URLs or documentation, with the document adding that such disclosures may complement but not replace in-context disclosure; machine-readable markings such as metadata or watermarks that are not perceivable by users at the point of interaction, which does not affect their appropriateness for Article 50(2); unclear or ambiguous signals, with the document expressly naming a generic reference to 'assistant', and human-like representations that may mislead users; generalised disclosures that are not sufficiently specific to the system's outputs and interactions, with the document citing as inadequate a statement on a platform offering a variety of services that 'Services on this website use AI'; and technical or capability-based descriptions referring solely to the underlying technology, such as 'this system uses LLMs', without explaining the function or the implications for the user and the artificial origin. Point (142) adds that information is not clear and distinguishable where it can be easily overlooked or missed under normal exposure or interaction conditions, for example where it is included only in a manual, hidden under layers of menu options in an online interface, or part of terms of use that users often do not read.
- Locator: Commission Guidelines C(2026) 5054 final, Section 3.1.2 point (38) and Section 7.1 point (142)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-article-50-guidelinesOpen official source

Our interpretation

Our own reading. It can change without the law changing, and it is not the position of a supervisory authority.

This is the list that topples most existing implementations. Three patterns occur structurally and all three fail. First, the legal cover: a line in the terms and conditions or privacy statement saying the organisation uses AI. Second, the technical cover: the argument that the output carries a C2PA mark or watermark and that the user is therefore informed. The guidelines keep those two tracks strictly separate, because a machine-readable mark counts for Article 50(2) but not as a disclosure to the human. Third, the brand-driven cover: giving the chatbot a friendly name and calling it 'your digital assistant'. That precise formulation is named as an example of an ambiguous signal. The popular generic site-wide banner stating that the site uses AI is likewise explicitly labelled insufficient, because it is not specific enough to the actual output.
- Locator: Commission Guidelines C(2026) 5054 final, Section 3.1.2 point (38) and Section 7.1 point (142)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-article-50-guidelinesOpen official source

Recommended step

A practical step we consider appropriate. Not an obligation following from the Regulation.

Inventory where your current AI disclosure sits. If it lives only in the terms and conditions, the privacy statement, a cookie banner or a help page, it does not comply and must move into the interaction itself, close to the input and output field. Replace phrasings such as 'digital assistant' or 'virtual colleague' with an explicit statement that this is an AI system. Keep the machine-readable marking in place for Article 50(2), but do not count it towards the disclosure to the user.
- Locator: Commission Guidelines C(2026) 5054 final, Section 3.1.2 point (38) and Section 7.1 point (142)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-article-50-guidelinesOpen official source

When this applies

1Applies to every disclosure under Article 50, because Article 50(5) requires information to be provided in a clear and distinguishable manner and to conform to applicable accessibility requirements.

When this does not apply

No exception recorded on this object.

Referring to this object

Citation block

Copy this reference into your advice, article or file. The identifier, the version and the hash keep the statement findable later, even once the dataset has moved on.

Reference

Praxikon, "What does not suffice on its own as an AI disclosure",
praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods@1.0.0,
dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0),
effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z,
sha256 a61216744fea363ea209be6924027e8a4cc59cac559a7cc92505d51bc300c12c,
https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/guidance/guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods
(https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Aguidance%3Aguidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en, accessed 2026-08-25)

Short form

praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods@1.0.0 (sha256 a6121674)

BibTeX

@misc{praxikon-eu-ai-act-guidance-guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods-1-0-0,
  author       = {{Praxikon}},
  title        = {What does not suffice on its own as an AI disclosure},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.0.0},
  number       = {praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods},
  howpublished = {AI Act Change \& Evidence Graph, dataset 2.1.0, schema 1.4.0},
  note         = {effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 a61216744fea363ea209be6924027e8a4cc59cac559a7cc92505d51bc300c12c},
  url          = {https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/guidance/guidance-article-50-insufficient-disclosure-methods},
  urldate      = {2026-08-25},
  language     = {en}
}

CSL JSON

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  }
]

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