Does the EU AI Act apply to UK companies?

Yes, if the output of the AI system is used in the EU. Brexit doesn't change extraterritorial scope — a UK SaaS company with EU users is in scope just like a US one.

Does the EU AI Act apply to ChatGPT?

Yes. ChatGPT is a general-purpose AI system. OpenAI has obligations as the provider of the underlying model, and any organisation deploying ChatGPT in a high-risk use case picks up deployer obligations under the Act.

What is high-risk AI under the EU AI Act?

High-risk systems are listed in Annex III: AI used in recruitment, credit scoring, education access, critical infrastructure, law enforcement, migration, and democratic processes, plus AI components in regulated products like medical devices and machinery.

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What is the EU AI Act?

22 May 20263 min read

The EU AI Act is the world's first comprehensive law governing artificial intelligence. It applies to any organisation whose AI system has effects inside the European Union — including non-EU companies serving EU customers.

What the EU AI Act regulates

The Act sorts AI systems into four risk tiers and attaches obligations to each.

Unacceptable risk — banned (e.g. social scoring, untargeted facial recognition databases)
High risk — heavy obligations (recruitment, credit, education, critical infrastructure)
Limited risk — transparency duties (chatbots must disclose they're AI)
Minimal risk — no obligations (spam filters, recommender systems)

When the EU AI Act applies

The Act came into force on 1 August 2024 and applies in phases:

2 February 2025 — prohibited practices
2 August 2025 — general-purpose AI model obligations
2 August 2026 — most remaining obligations (main deadline)
2 August 2027 — high-risk AI in regulated products

Fines for best results — i.e. avoiding them

Up to €35M or 7% of global turnover for prohibited practices. Up to €15M or 3% for high-risk breaches. Up to €7.5M or 1% for supplying wrong information to authorities. The higher of the percentage or the cash figure applies.