Is your company ready for the EU AI Act?
From 2 August 2026, most of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) applies. It covers not only companies that develop AI, but also companies and organisations that use AI in their operations – which means most listed companies are affected.
For IR and communications functions, it raises several practical questions:
- Does the company have an AI policy?
- Do employees know how AI may be used?
- How are quality, confidentiality and human review ensured?
- When does AI-generated content need to be disclosed?
For most companies, AI will not change what is communicated, but it will change how content is produced. That makes governance, accountability and internal processes at least as important as the technology itself.
As with GDPR and NIS2, this is an area where the board and management need to be able to demonstrate that they are in control.
The penalties also underline that the AI Act should be taken seriously. For the most serious infringements, fines can reach as much as EUR 35 million. But less serious infringements can also result in administrative fines.
This makes AI a strategic issue for the board and management – not just a matter for the IT department.
Transparency: This post was produced with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and has been reviewed, edited and approved by a human editor.
