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Do AI products need a disclaimer?

By Ben Tabas, Intrica Research · Updated · US and EU

Answer

Some AI products need a disclosure by law, and the rule depends on where your users are and what the product does. Article 50 of the EU AI Act, which applies from Aug. 2, 2026, requires providers to tell people they are interacting with an AI system unless that is obvious.

Where disclosure is required

  • EU: providers must inform people they are interacting with an AI system unless it is obvious to a reasonably well-informed person, under Article 50(1) of the AI Act, which applies from Aug. 2, 2026.
  • EU: generative AI outputs must be marked in a machine-readable format and detectable as AI generated, under Article 50(2), and deployers must disclose deepfake image, audio or video, under Article 50(4). Generative systems already on the market before Aug. 2, 2026 have until Dec. 2, 2026 to meet the marking duty, per Goodwin Procter on Aug. 3, 2026.
  • Utah: a supplier using generative AI in a consumer transaction must disclose it when the person clearly and unambiguously asks, under Utah Code 13-75-103, effective May 7, 2025.
  • Utah: licensed professionals in regulated occupations must prominently disclose generative AI in high-risk interactions, at the start of a verbal exchange or in writing before a written one, under the same section.
  • California: companion chatbots must give a clear and conspicuous notice that they are AI and not human when a reasonable person could be misled, under SB 243, enacted Oct. 13, 2025, per the ETO AGORA summary.
  • California: SB 243 also requires reminders to known minors at least every three hours and allows damages of the greater of actual damages or $1,000 per violation, per the same summary.

A disclaimer won't cover a false claim

The FTC announced Operation AI Comply on Sept. 25, 2024, and its chair said there is no AI exemption from the laws on the books.

One case in that sweep alleged that DoNotPay marketed itself as the world's first robot lawyer without testing whether its output matched a human lawyer's, per the same FTC release. Marketing claims about what your AI does need evidence behind them.

How to write one

  1. Say it is AI at the start of the interaction, in plain words, where the user is looking.
  2. Keep it visible during the session. Utah's safe harbor, effective May 7, 2025, covers AI that discloses clearly and conspicuously at the outset and throughout the interaction.
  3. Label generated images, audio and video, and add machine-readable marking if you serve EU users.
  4. Match every marketing claim to tested product behavior, and keep the test records.

Check whether AI engines can quote your product's AI disclosure and trust pages correctly when buyers ask about them.

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Sources

  1. Article 50: Transparency Obligations for Providers and Deployers of Certain AI Systems · EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Future of Life Institute), Aug. 2, 2026Supports: The AI interaction disclosure, machine-readable marking and deepfake rules, and their Aug. 2, 2026 application date under Article 113.
  2. S.B. 226 Artificial Intelligence Consumer Protection Amendments (enrolled) · Utah State Legislature, May 7, 2025Supports: Utah Code 13-75-103 disclosure duties, the 13-75-104 safe harbor and the May 7, 2025 effective date.
  3. California SB 243 (Companion Chatbots 2025) · Emerging Technology Observatory AGORA, Oct. 13, 2025Supports: SB 243's AI notice, three-hour minors reminder and $1,000 per violation damages.
  4. FTC Announces Crackdown on Deceptive AI Claims and Schemes · Federal Trade Commission, Sept. 25, 2024Supports: Operation AI Comply, the no AI exemption statement and the DoNotPay allegation.
  5. EU AI Act transparency obligations now in force · Goodwin Procter, Aug. 3, 2026Supports: That the Digital Omnibus, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, gives generative systems on the market before Aug. 2, 2026 until Dec. 2, 2026 to meet the Article 50(2) marking duty.

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General information, not legal advice.

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