The EU AI Act in Denmark: What Online Shops Must Disclose

The EU AI Act — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — is the European Union’s first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence. As an EU regulation it applies directly in Denmark, with no need for a separate Danish law to bring it into force. A Danish online shop that uses AI tools is therefore covered by the same core rules as a shop anywhere else in the Union.

This guide explains what the AI Act means for Danish e-commerce in practice, which duties are most likely to affect an everyday shop, and how enforcement is being organised in Denmark.

Directly applicable, phased in over time

The AI Act arrives in stages. Prohibited practices have been banned since 2 February 2025. Rules for general-purpose AI models applied from 2 August 2025. Most obligations for high-risk AI systems apply from 2 August 2026. The transparency duties that concern shops are part of this same timetable.

Because the regulation is directly applicable, Danish shops do not wait for a national act. Each Member State instead designates the national authorities that supervise and enforce the rules — and, across the EU including Denmark, that work is still being completed during 2025 and 2026.

Provider or deployer?

The Act distinguishes providers, who develop and market AI systems, from deployers, who use them. Almost every online shop is a deployer. If you rely on a bought-in chatbot, a third-party recommendation engine, or a commercial AI image tool, you are a deployer and your obligations are lighter than a provider’s.

For the great majority of Danish shops, the practical duties come from Article 50 on transparency.

Article 50 transparency duties

Article 50 requires that people are told when they are dealing with AI. For a Danish shop this covers:

• Chatbots: customers must be able to tell they are interacting with an AI system, unless that is already obvious.
• AI-generated images, audio and video: this content must be marked as artificially generated or manipulated in a machine-readable form.
• Deep fakes: content resembling real people, places or events must be disclosed as artificially generated.
• Certain public-interest AI-generated text, a narrower case that rarely touches routine product copy.

In everyday practice, the two triggers a Danish shop is most likely to meet are an AI chatbot and AI-generated visuals used in listings or marketing.

Disclosures in Danish

The AI Act requires disclosures to be clear and understandable to those who receive them. In Denmark, where consumers are addressed in Danish, AI notices should normally be written in Danish so shoppers genuinely understand them. A short statement that a visitor is chatting with an automated assistant, in plain Danish, is the kind of clear disclosure the Act intends.

This aligns with the way Danish consumers are usually informed, where information is given to customers in Danish as a matter of course.

Enforcement in Denmark

At Union level, the European Commission’s AI Office coordinates general-purpose AI oversight and promotes consistent application. At national level, each Member State designates its own competent authorities, including a market surveillance authority that supervises AI systems in use.

Denmark is designating and establishing its national AI authorities, a process still being finalised across much of the EU during 2025 and 2026. Since the substantive obligations come directly from the regulation, Danish shops should act on the transparency duties now rather than waiting for the national framework to settle.

Practical steps for Danish shops

• Map where AI appears on your site, from chatbots to AI-generated media.
• Add a clear Danish-language notice wherever customers chat with an AI assistant.
• Label AI-generated or manipulated images and video so shoppers are not misled.
• Keep a short record of your AI tools and how each is disclosed.

This article is for general information and is educational, not legal advice.