Guides · Article 50 · EU AI Act
Article 50(2) for AI writing and text-generation tools
If you build an AI writing assistant, copy generator, or any product that produces synthetic text, Article 50(2) of the EU AI Act is the paragraph to study: its machine-readable marking duty covers text alongside audio, image, and video. This guide explains what that means for text-tool providers, from the regulation text. Informational only — not legal advice.
Yes, the marking duty covers text
Article 50(2) applies to providers of AI systems, including general-purpose AI systems, generating synthetic audio, image, video or text content: they must ensure the outputs are marked in a machine-readable format and detectable as artificially generated or manipulated (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689). The text also acknowledges reality — solutions must be effective, interoperable, robust and reliable as far as technically feasible, taking into account the specificities and limitations of various types of content. Text is widely regarded as the hardest content type to mark robustly, and the regulation's own feasibility language is where that difficulty gets weighed. What that means for a specific product is a fact-specific question the regulation text does not answer directly.
The carve-out most writing tools ask about
The obligation does not apply to the extent the AI systems perform an assistive function for standard editing or do not substantially alter the input data provided by the deployer or the semantics thereof. Grammar checkers, spell-fixers, and light rewriting features tend to look at this carve-out; a tool that drafts whole articles from a short prompt sits further from it. The boundary — 'to the extent', 'substantially alter' — is a matter of degree, so document where each feature falls and confirm the analysis with qualified counsel.
What text-tool providers commonly document
Note also that your users can carry their own duties — for example, the disclosure limb of Article 50(4) for AI-generated text published to inform the public on matters of public interest — so provider-side marking and customer guidance often travel together. And Article 50 covers only the transparency slice of the EU AI Act; depending on your systems, other parts of the Act may also apply. Confirm the full picture with qualified counsel.
- Which product features generate synthetic text versus assist with standard editing.
- The machine-readable marking approach for generated text, and why it is effective, interoperable, robust, and reliable so far as technically feasible.
- Any technical standards you are tracking.
- Where you rely on the assistive-editing or no-substantial-alteration carve-out, the rationale per feature.
- Counsel's review of the mapping.
See what may apply to your business
Answer seven quick questions for an automated, informational indication of which Article 50 obligations appear likely to apply — free, and not legal advice.