Who is the provider of a wrapper
The Article 50 FAQ (last update 24 July 2026) quotes Article 3(3): providers develop AI systems, or have them developed, and place them on the EU market or put them into service under their own name or trademark. Location does not matter. A US, Canadian, or UK HQ is still in if the output is used in the EU.
OpenAI and Anthropic provide the general-purpose model. You provide the product that talks to a person: the chat UI, the system prompt, the retrieval, the branding. Article 50(1) is a system-level duty on that product. The FAQ also says Article 50 transparency is complementary to the GPAI model rules in Articles 53 and 55, not a substitute for them.
When the wrapper is in scope
Article 50(1) applies when four criteria in the FAQ all hold:
- The system is an AI system.
- It is designed for a genuine two-way exchange with people, not just data collection or one-shot automated replies.
- The interaction is direct: the AI itself communicates with the person.
- The person is a natural person (consumer, professional, or other user).
| What you shipped | Art. 50(1) notice? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS chat that calls ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini and answers a human | Yes. You are the system provider. | Direct two-way AI interaction under your name. |
| White-label support widget on a customer site, powered by an API | Yes, if you placed it on the market under your trademark. | Same provider definition. Your customer may also be a deployer of your system. |
| Custom GPT or project that only you use, no other humans | Usually not Art. 50(1). | No other natural person is interacting with the system. |
| Background classifier or machine-to-machine pipeline | No under Art. 50(1). | FAQ: no direct contact with people. |
The “unless this is obvious” exception is real and narrow. The FAQ says interpret it restrictively. A human-named avatar plus “How can I help you today?” is not obvious. Treat it as in-scope.
What is not transferred to OpenAI
Chapter V GPAI provider duties (technical documentation, copyright policy, training-content summary) sit on the model supplier unless you significantly modified the model. That is the other page: If I only call OpenAI or Claude, do I have GPAI duties?
Do not confuse that with Article 50. The model vendor’s watermark or usage policy does not ship your first-interaction notice. The FAQ is explicit that deployers cannot rely on a provider’s Article 50(2) machine-readable mark to meet their own labelling duties. Same logic for your wrapper: their mark is not your chatbot notice.
What is live this week
Article 50 applies from 2 August 2026. The only grace period in the FAQ is for Article 50(2) machine-readable marks on generative systems already on the market before that date: those marks are due 2 December 2026. Chatbot notice had no extra delay. The Digital Omnibus moved high-risk dates, not Article 50.
National market surveillance authorities enforce most Article 50 cases. Fines can reach €15 million or 3% of worldwide turnover, with proportionality language for SMEs. That is the FAQ, not a blog.
Do this in seven days
- Inventory every surface where a person chats with your wrapper (app, widget, Slack, voice).
- Ship a clear, distinguishable first-interaction notice in the product. Commission-style example used on our other page: “You are interacting with an AI system.”
- Do not bury it in Terms or a privacy policy.
- If you generate synthetic audio, image, video, or text that people see, open an Article 50(2) marking ticket. Pre-2 August products get until 2 December. Later launches do not.
- Do not start a GPAI Code of Practice workstream just because you call an API.
Buy the checklist
The $29 Article 50 Ship Checklist is the print-and-tick page: inventory, notice line, deepfake labels, 2 December mark. The $149 Money Brief is the sourced memo if you fine-tuned a model, white-label for other companies, or legal wants the FAQ criteria applied to your exact stack.
Sources
Fetched 28 August 2026 (PT). No invented quotes.
- European Commission, “Transparency obligations under Article 50 of the AI Act,” FAQ, last update 24 July 2026 (provider definition Art. 3(3); four Article 50(1) criteria; applies from 2 August 2026; 2 December grace only for Art. 50(2) marks; complementary to GPAI Arts. 53 and 55; fines up to €15m / 3%). digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu
- European Commission, “Commission starts enforcing AI Act rules and new transparency requirements on 2 August,” press release, 31 July 2026. digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu
- European Commission, AI Act policy page, last update 3 August 2026. digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu
- European Commission, “Guidelines for providers of general-purpose AI models.” digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu