ChatGPT EU DSA rules are now a concrete compliance problem for OpenAI. On August 31, the European Commission classified the chatbot as a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act, putting it into the EU’s enhanced oversight system after the service declared it had at least 45 million average monthly users in the bloc.
The designation gives ChatGPT four months after notification to meet the added requirements, with the Commission setting the deadline at January 2027. OpenAI said it was preparing to meet those requirements, according to AFP.
The decision turns on how the Commission categorizes the product. ChatGPT answers prompts and queries and can search the web, so the Commission calls it a hybrid service that qualifies as an online search engine for DSA purposes. That is a regulatory classification based on how the service operates, rather than a new AI-specific law aimed at chatbots.
What do ChatGPT’s EU DSA rules require?
OpenAI must assess and mitigate systemic risks arising from ChatGPT and its algorithmic systems. The Commission identified six areas: distribution of illegal content, harmful effects on minors, users’ physical and mental well-being, fundamental rights, electoral processes, and public security.
That language is broad, but the announcement describes a system-level risk process. It does not spell out a new rule for handling any particular user conversation, answer, or search result.
ChatGPT was already subject to the general DSA obligations that apply to online search engines. The new designation adds the obligations attached to services large enough to cross the law’s 45 million average-monthly-user threshold in the EU.
- OpenAI must examine how the service and its underlying systems can create the specified systemic risks.
- It must take measures intended to reduce those risks by the January 2027 deadline.
- The European Commission can investigate the service’s features and, where relevant, related systems.
The Commission will supervise ChatGPT’s compliance alongside Ireland’s Digital Services Coordinator, Coimisiún na Meán. The cross-border arrangement follows the DSA’s model of shared enforcement between Brussels and national regulators.
Why did the EU classify ChatGPT as a search engine?
The Commission’s explanation is functional: ChatGPT engages with user requests and can conduct web searches. That makes it a search engine under the DSA even though users generally encounter it as a conversational AI product. The designation does not announce a new action under the EU AI Act, which is a separate regulatory framework.
Reddit and Roblox received designations on the same day, but as Very Large Online Platforms rather than search engines. The Commission said Reddit qualifies because people publicly share and interact with content in topic communities; it described Roblox as a service where users create, publish, and play games made by other users.
Henna Virkkunen, the Commission executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said the three services would face greater scrutiny and accountability because of their impact on people and society in the EU. The Commission said it had designated 28 very large platforms and search engines under the DSA as of the announcement.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
