ChatGPT
The first generative AI assistant designated under the DSA. The Commission treats it as a hybrid service and regulates it in the search engine tier.
- Tier
- VLOSE — very large online search engine
- Provider
- OpenAI Ireland Limited
- Sector
- Generative AI / Search
- Designated
- 31 August 2026
- Obligations from
- 31 December 2026
- EU users at designation
- 159.1 million
- Formal proceedings
- None to date
On 31 August 2026 the Commission designated ChatGPT a very large online search engine on a declared 159.1 million average monthly active recipients in the Union — immediately the second-largest VLOSE by user count, ahead of Bing.
The reasoning matters more than the number. ChatGPT is an AI system, but users put queries to it and it can retrieve from the open web, so the Commission treats it as an “online search engine” within the meaning of Article 3(j) and applies the search-engine tier of duties. That is the first time the DSA’s asymmetric regime has been stretched over a generative model.
The practical consequences are unresolved and are the reason this designation is being watched closely. What an Article 34 systemic risk assessment looks like for a model rather than a ranking system, what an Article 39 advertising repository contains for a service that carries little conventional advertising, and how Article 38’s non-profiling option applies to a conversational assistant are all questions the compliance deadline will force answers to.
The obligations bite four months after notification of the designation decision — the end of December 2026.
What ChatGPT has to do
Designation applies the DSA's asymmetric obligations in Articles 33 to 43. They are the same for every designated service, read against a search and ranking surface.
- Article 34 Systemic risk assessment
- Article 35 Mitigation of risks
- Article 37 Independent audit
- Article 38 Recommender systems without profiling
- Article 39 Advertising repository
- Article 40 Data access for the Commission and vetted researchers
- Article 41 Internal compliance function
- Article 42 Transparency reporting
- Article 43 Supervisory fee