European Commission publishes AI content-labeling code ahead of August AI Act transparency deadline

The European Commission published its final Code of Practice on marking and labelling of AI-generated content on June 10, 2026, giving providers and deployers a voluntary playbook for meeting EU AI Act transparency rules that become binding this summer. The code lands less than two months before the underlying obligations take effect.

The Commission's Code of Practice on AI-generated content maps to Article 50 of the AI Act, the transparency provisions that apply from August 2, 2026. Under those rules, providers of generative AI systems must mark AI-generated or manipulated content in a machine-readable format, and deployers must clearly label deepfakes and AI-generated or manipulated text published on matters of public interest. Users must also be informed when they are interacting with an AI system such as a chatbot. The code introduces a set of EU Icons to signal AI-generated content in a consistent way.

Article 50 is one of the first broad legal tests of whether AI output can be reliably traced at scale, and the code is the Commission's attempt to turn a statutory obligation into concrete engineering and disclosure steps before enforcement begins. The AI Office's code policy page says the text was drafted around two independent working groups — one for providers and one for deployers — made up of eligible stakeholders from industry, academia, and civil society, with working-group meetings and workshops held between November 2025 and May 2026.

The code is voluntary, and signing it does not by itself prove compliance with the AI Act — adherence is intended as evidence of good-faith effort, not a legal safe harbor. The Commission has scheduled an info session on the code and its signature process, at which the AI Office will invite providers and deployers to sign. It has also published companion draft guidelines on AI transparency obligations, issued May 8, 2026 and opened to consultation.

Providers now have a narrow window to align tooling with the August 2 deadline. How many major model makers sign, and whether the EU Icons gain traction across consumer platforms, will signal how durable the transparency regime proves once mandatory rules arrive.