What changed in the AI Act timeline

Q: What changed in the AI Act timeline

Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 was amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), in force since 27 July 2026. Eight dated effects, old value next to new, each with the provision that sets the date. Published timelines that predate 27 July 2026 still show the original dates.

High-risk obligations for stand-alone Annex III systems (Chapter III, Sections 1-3)

2 August 2026→2 December 2027

The AI Act's general application date in Article 113, second paragraph: 'It shall apply from 2 August 2026.' Article 6(2)/Annex III systems fell under it.

Set by: Art. 113, third paragraph, point (c)(i)

High-risk obligations for AI embedded in Annex I products (Art. 6(1))

2 August 2027→2 August 2028

Article 113, third paragraph, point (c) as adopted: 'Article 6(1) and the corresponding obligations in this Regulation shall apply from 2 August 2027.' Note that this track never shared the 2 August 2026 date — the amending act replaced point (c) in full.

Set by: Art. 113, third paragraph, point (c)(ii)

Article 50(2) machine-readable marking, for generative systems already on the market before 2 August 2026

2 August 2026, with no transition→2 December 2026

Article 50(2) applied from the general date; the amending act adds a four-month transition for systems already placed on the market. New systems from 2 August 2026 do not get it.

Set by: Art. 111(4), newly added

Two new prohibited practices: AI generating non-consensual intimate imagery, and material within the meaning of Art. 2(c) and (e) of Directive 2011/93/EU

did not exist→2 December 2026

Article 5 as adopted contained no such prohibition. Article 5(1a) narrows the scope; Article 5(1b) excludes manipulation that does not increase exposure.

Set by: Art. 113, third paragraph, point (a)

The AI literacy duty (Article 4) — date unchanged, substance changed

Date unchanged: 2 February 2025 — the substance changed

Article 4 was replaced in full. The new text states expressly that the obligation 'does not require providers or deployers to guarantee any specific level of AI literacy of any individual.' A timeline that only tracks dates misses this one entirely.

Set by: Art. 113, third paragraph, point (a) (unchanged for this duty)

Amendments to other Union acts (Articles 102 to 110)

2 August 2026→27 July 2026

Articles 102 to 110 fell under the general application date in Article 113, second paragraph: 'It shall apply from 2 August 2026.' The amending act makes them apply from its own entry into force.

Set by: Art. 113, third paragraph, point (d), newly added

At least one national AI regulatory sandbox per Member State operational

2 August 2026→2 August 2027

Article 57(1) as adopted: Member States 'shall ensure that their competent authorities establish at least one AI regulatory sandbox at national level, which shall be operational by 2 August 2026.'

Set by: Art. 57(1), first subparagraph, as replaced

Transition for existing high-risk systems; the prohibitions still apply

before 2 August 2026→before the date of application of Chapter III (2 December 2027 for Annex III, 2 August 2028 for Annex I)

Article 111(2) is without prejudice to Article 5, applies outside the systems of paragraph 1 and ties application to significant changes in design after the applicable date. As adopted, that date was 2 August 2026; it now follows the deferred Chapter III dates. For systems intended for use by public authorities, 2 August 2030 still applies.

Set by: Art. 111(2), first subparagraph, as replaced

Amending act: Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 on EUR-Lex ↗ · base act: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 ↗

What did not change

Most of the AI Act kept its dates. Naming them matters as much as naming the ones that moved, because a reader who hears 'the AI Act was delayed' tends to assume all of it was.

The Article 5 prohibitions as originally adopted have applied since 2 February 2025.
Obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models have applied since 2 August 2025.
Article 50(1), (3) and (4) transparency duties apply from 2 August 2026 — only the 50(2) marking duty got a transition, and only for systems already on the market.
The AI Act's general application date of 2 August 2026 still stands for everything the rows above do not move.

Check it yourself

Every row above points at the provision that sets the date, so you can read it in the Official Journal rather than take our word for it. The full dated register is on AI Act deadlines, with a change history per obligation. The article text as adopted is in the article library, where every provision this regulation touched carries a notice — the library is not a consolidated text and says so.

Machine-readable: timeline-changes.json