The European Union has taken a major step in regulating artificial intelligence by placing ChatGPT under its strictest digital safety rules, marking a significant moment in the global debate over AI governance.


On August 31, 2026, the European Commission designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), making it the first AI chatbot to receive such a classification. The move follows the platform's rapid growth, having surpassed the threshold of 45 million monthly users within the European Union.


The designation means that ChatGPT must now comply with tougher requirements aimed at protecting users and ensuring transparency. These include assessing and reducing risks linked to misinformation, illegal content, public safety, election integrity, and the well-being of minors. The EU will also gain stronger powers to audit and investigate how the platform operates.


European regulators argue that AI-powered systems have become influential sources of information and therefore require oversight similar to that applied to major social media platforms and search engines. Officials describe ChatGPT as a “hybrid service” capable of both generating responses and retrieving information from the web, making it subject to the bloc’s highest level of digital scrutiny.


Failure to comply with the new obligations could expose companies to fines of up to six percent of their global annual revenue. OpenAI has indicated that it is preparing to meet the requirements within the four-month compliance period provided by the EU.


Supporters of the move say the regulations will make AI safer and more accountable at a time when concerns about deepfakes, misinformation, and online harms are growing. Critics, however, warn that heavy regulation could slow innovation and place additional burdens on technology companies.


As governments worldwide race to establish rules for artificial intelligence, the EU's latest action signals that the era of largely unregulated AI is rapidly coming to an end.