In two weeks, on 2 August 2026, the transparency obligation of the EU AI Act takes effect. At the same time, three new language models were rolled out this week: GPT-5.6 as the default in ChatGPT, Grok 4.5 from xAI and the upcoming Gemini 3.5 Pro from Google. For Dutch professionals, these two developments coincide at an awkward moment.
What changes on 2 August
The transparency articles of the AI Act require every organisation that uses AI for customer communication to take one concrete step: state at the start of the conversation that the user is speaking with an AI. This applies to chatbots on websites, voicebots in call centres and virtual assistants in customer service portals. A chatbot that poses as a human employee will be in breach after 2 August.
In addition, requirements apply to:
- AI-generated content: texts, images and videos created by AI must be recognisable as such, through metadata, watermarks or a clear label.
- Deepfakes: manipulated images or audio must carry an "AI Generated" or "AI Modified" label.
- Emotion recognition and biometric categorisation: users must be informed when AI analyses their emotions or characteristics, for example in HR tools or marketing software.
The maximum fine for infringement is 15 million euros or 3% of worldwide annual turnover, but enforcement initially focuses on large players without any transparency. Nevertheless, the law applies to every business, from sole traders to multinationals. You can read more about what the AI Act means for your own sector on our sector pages.
Source: Legalz – Transparency about AI: is your organisation ready for 2 August 2026? · DenkChat – EU AI Act and your chatbot: what SMEs need to know
Three new models in one week
The model market did not stand still this week either. An overview:
GPT-5.6 is, as of 9 July 2026, the default model in ChatGPT. OpenAI is launching three variants: Luna ($1/$6 per million tokens), Terra ($2.50/$15) and Sol ($5/$30). Terra positions OpenAI as a direct competitor to Claude Sonnet 5, which arrived on 30 June at $2/$10 (introductory pricing until 31 August, then $3/$15).
Grok 4.5 from xAI arrived on 8 July at $2 input / $6 output per million tokens and targets coding and knowledge work. Independent benchmarks place the model at the level of Claude Opus 4.7, but with lower latency.
Gemini 3.5 Pro from Google is set to launch in July 2026, although no official pricing has been announced yet.
A full overview of prices and performance for all models is available on our models page.
Source: FelloAI – Best AI Models in July 2026 · LLM Stats – AI News July 2026
What you should do now
If you haven't taken action before 2 August, these are the three priorities:
- Take stock of which AI systems communicate directly with your customers or users.
- Add a clear AI notice at the start of every conversation or interaction.
- Check your DPAs: if you deploy one of the new models via an API, verify that your provider meets EU data requirements. The safety page provides an overview of the privacy position per model.
The combination of new models and tightening regulation makes this a good moment to review your AI use, not as a compliance exercise, but as an opportunity to also inform your customers better about how you use AI.