If you sell to customers in the EU, there’s a new piece of regulation that’s just come into play, and it’s one that you need to be aware of. In this blog we’ll walk you through what’s relevant to you as a Shopify merchant and what you need to do now.
From 2 August 2026, the EU AI Act’s transparency rules (Article 50) come into effect. The trigger isn’t where you advertise – it depends on where your customers are, so if some of your business comes from customers outside of the UK and within the EU, the act applies to you.
Whether someone in the EU finds you through organic social media, a link in Google search or clicks a paid ad on Meta, these new rules apply and you’re going to want to ensure your business complies.
What Are The New EU AI Disclosure Rules?
The rules aren’t about whether you use AI in general, they’re about whether people can tell when they’re seeing or dealing with AI. This means that broadly, four things must from now on, be disclosed.
AI chatbots and support widgets
If a customer is talking to AI rather than a person, they need to know that.
AI-generated or AI-altered images, video and audio
Synthetic product shots, AI-touched lifestyle imagery, that sort of thing. There’s a slightly longer runway on this one; content already live before 2 August 2026 has until 2 December 2026 before the labelling requirement hits.
AI-generated text
On matters of public interest a narrower category, but worth knowing it exists.
Emotion recognition or biometric categorisation
Though unlikely to affect most ecommerce stores, it’s also a part of the Act.
What Happens If You Don’t Comply?
Fines for non-compliance aren’t small either, and can amount up to €15 million or 3% of global turnover, depending which is higher. Realistically, enforcement against a small UK Shopify site in year one is unlikely to be dramatic, but that’s not a great reason to fall short.
The UK doesn’t have equivalent AI disclosure rules yet, and the ASA has been cautious so far – its position is that existing truthfulness rules apply regardless of how content is made. We suspect that this somewhat woolly view won’t be sustainable for long though.
As the EU’s approach becomes the norm and public expectation keeps shifting, we believe it likely that the ASA will move to firm up its guidance, with transparent AI disclosure becoming standard practice, not the exception.
Understanding Your AI Disclosure Responsibility
We’ve talked before about the backlash amongst some customers against AI-generated content that pretends not to be and the proliferation of what has become known as “AI slop”.
EU regulation like this is essentially catching up to where trust was already heading – being upfront about what’s AI and what isn’t – It’s no longer purely a trust question, it’s becoming a compliance one too.
What to actually do about it
If you’re an SME selling to customers in the EU, the practical checklist looks like this:
Audit where AI touches the customer-facing parts of your store
Think chatbots, generated imagery, AI video and even AI-assisted copy.
Add clear, simple disclosure where it’s genuinely AI-driven
A chatbot that says it’s a bot, an image credit or note where content is generative AI is a relatively simple way to address your disclosure responsibility.
Don’t over correct
This isn’t a reason to stop using or hide the fact you use AI, It’s a reason to be honest about where and how it is being used.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the Commission’s detailed guidance as it evolves, because the exact wording and prominence requirements are still being worked through. In the meantime, if you’d like practical help to integrate the required disclosures into your website, let’s talk.