The EU AI Act became enforceable for companion-chatbot operators in August 2026, layering transparency, risk-management and documentation duties onto the national rules already in place.
For apps serving European users this means clear AI disclosure, recorded safety testing and demonstrable risk controls — the same direction of travel as California's SB 243 and New York's companion-app statute. Compliance is now a structural cost of operating in the category, not an optional extra.