Telling Customers They Are Talking to an AI

From 2 August 2026, an AI advisor that talks with customers in the European Union must make clear that it is an AI. The rule comes from Article 50 of the EU AI Act. For a merchant, it is less a constraint than a design question: where to say it, how, and in what words.

What the rule says

Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the AI Act, sets transparency obligations in Article 50. Its first paragraph covers AI systems intended to interact directly with people. They must be designed so that the people concerned are informed that they are interacting with an AI system, unless this is obvious from the context.

Article 50(5) adds how and when. The information must be given in a clear and distinguishable manner, at the latest at the time of the first interaction, and it must meet the applicable accessibility requirements.

The European Commission published guidelines on these obligations on 20 July 2026. They read the “obvious from the context” exception restrictively. They name chatbots used in customer support and e-commerce among the systems in scope, and they give a helpdesk chatbot on a website as an example where the exception cannot apply.

The AI omnibus adopted by EU legislators in June 2026 postponed several deadlines for high-risk systems. It did not postpone this disclosure duty.

This summary is not legal advice. Each merchant should check its own situation with counsel. For the wider picture, see Agentic Commerce and Regulation: What Brands Need to Know.

Who carries the obligation

Article 50(1) is addressed to the provider of the AI system. The Commission’s guidelines note that a company offering a chatbot under its own name is a provider, whether that service is free or paid.

For a merchant whose advisor carries the brand’s name, and for the technology vendor behind it, the practical conclusion is the same: agree on who ensures the disclosure. The simplest answer is a disclosure built into the product, which no one can switch off by mistake.

What a good disclosure looks like

A disclosure that meets the rule can also be a good piece of customer experience:

• Visible from the first exchange. A label next to the advisor’s name and a first line that says it is an AI, before or with the first answer.
• In plain words. “AI advisor” is clearer than a technical term. Slovenia’s regulator for electronic communications, AKOS, notes that general statements, technical jargon or notices hidden in the terms of use are not enough.
• Truthful when asked. If a customer asks whether they are talking to a person, the advisor clearly says no.
• Accessible. Readable by screen readers and with sufficient contrast.
• The same in every language and market where the advisor runs.

Disclosure builds trust

Customers who know they are talking to an AI can judge its answers accordingly. A disclosure on its own does not make an advisor credible. What does is the combination: a clear label, answers that rest on the merchant’s approved product information, and an advisor that says when it cannot confirm a fact. How to Govern Product Answers in Commerce AI covers that last part.

How Querytail handles it

Every Brand Agent conversation shows the customer that they are talking to an AI advisor, from the first answer and in the customer’s language. The merchant chooses the advisor’s tone and appearance, but cannot remove the disclosure. Brand Agent answers from the product knowledge the merchant has approved and says when a fact cannot be confirmed.

FAQ

Can the advisor have a name? Yes, as long as the customer is told clearly, at the latest at the first interaction, that an AI is assisting them.

Is a line in the terms of use enough? No. The information has to reach the customer in a clear and distinguishable way when the conversation starts.

Does the disclosure lower conversion? Measure it rather than guess. A holdout group shows the effect of the advisor as a whole, disclosure included. See Why a Continuous Holdout Matters in AI Commerce.

Want to see how Brand Agent introduces itself to your customers? Request a demo.