What is AI transparency?

EU AI Act transparency requirements

Separate the provider's duties from the publisher's. Providers have requirements concerning disclosure of AI interaction unless it is obvious in the circumstances, and machine-readable marking of certain synthetic outputs. Deployers have duties concerning emotion recognition or biometric categorisation, deepfakes and AI-generated public-interest text. The text-publication rule includes a human-review or editorial-control exception where a person or organisation holds editorial responsibility. Other exceptions and transitions require checking. High-risk instructions and general-purpose model documentation arise under different provisions.

Transparency in practice

Beyond the Act's mandatory requirements, AI transparency has a broader practical dimension for Irish organisations. Client disclosure: organisations in professional services; legal, financial, consulting; need to consider when and how to disclose to clients that AI has been used in preparing advice or documents. Employee communication: employees need to know what AI is in use, what data it processes, and what their obligations are when using it. Governance documentation: transparency with regulators and auditors means maintaining clear records of AI use, governance activity, and compliance measures. And transparency with the public: organisations that use AI in customer-facing processes need to be prepared to explain those processes clearly. Transparency is not just a compliance checkbox; it is the foundation of trust in an organisation's AI use, and trust is increasingly a competitive differentiator.

Legal references reviewed 4 October 2026. High-risk provisions have phased application and transition rules. Sources: Commission timetable, deployer duties, impact-assessment scope and literacy guidance. Article 50 guidance.