EU AI Act for AI agents
Plain answers on what the EU AI Act means for AI agents. Each page quotes the Official Journal word for word and says when it was last checked.
EU AI Act dates for AI agents
The AI Act applies in stages. The bans in Article 5 apply since 2 February 2025. The transparency duties in Article 50 apply since 2 August 2026. New bans on intimate deepfakes and child sexual abuse material apply from 2 December 2026. High-risk duties for Annex III uses, such as hiring and staff monitoring, apply from 2 December 2027.
Does the EU AI Act apply to AI agents?
The AI Act's articles and annexes never use the word "agent". It regulates "AI systems", and most AI agents may fit that definition. What applies depends on what the agent does, not on what it is called. The Act also reaches companies outside the EU when their agent's output is used in the EU.
Article 50 for AI agents that act, not just chat
Since 2 August 2026, people must be told when they deal directly with an AI system, unless it is obvious. Most guidance pictures a chat window. Agents that email, call or post for you raise the same duty in new places. The information must reach people "at the latest at the time of the first interaction or exposure".
Banned AI practices, mapped to what agents do
Article 5 bans certain AI practices outright. Most have applied since 2 February 2025, and two new ones apply from 2 December 2026. They cover what a system does, not what it is called, so an agent's actions or answers can fall under them.
Prompt injection and the EU AI Act's robustness duty
The AI Act does not name prompt injection. Article 15 asks high-risk AI systems to be "resilient against attempts by unauthorised third parties to alter their use, outputs or performance by exploiting system vulnerabilities". For agents that read untrusted content, injected instructions may be such an attempt. The duty applies to Annex III systems from 2 December 2027.
Where your AI safety layer processes personal data
If your agent sends user messages to a guard model or a personal-data filter, that service handles the same personal data your agent does. So ask the same questions you ask of your model provider: where it runs, whether it saves the text, and whether a data processing agreement is ready.
These pages explain the text of the Act. They are not legal advice.