The European Parliament, Council of the European Union, and European Commission reached provisional agreement on these amendments on May 7, 2026. The delay resolves a longstanding "double-compliance" issue where AI-enabled machinery previously had to satisfy both the AI Act and existing product safety regulations simultaneously. A separate transparency requirement for watermarking AI-generated content has been shortened to a three-month delay, with compliance required by December 2, 2026.
Companies deploying AI in high-risk sectors—employment screening, education, law enforcement, critical infrastructure, and biometrics—should treat the December 2027 deadline as their actual compliance target, not the original August 2026 date. The extended timeline provides a critical window to audit systems and governance frameworks, but the prohibition on non-consensual intimate imagery takes effect this December. Organizations should prioritize understanding how the revised deadlines apply to their specific AI deployments and begin alignment with emerging technical standards now, rather than waiting for final regulatory guidance.