The EU AI Act in Hungary: What Online Shops Must Disclose
AI ActIf you run an online shop that sells to consumers in Hungary, the EU AI Act — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — increasingly shapes how you use artificial intelligence on your storefront. As a Regulation it is directly applicable across the Union, so the same core rules apply in Hungary as everywhere else in the EU, without waiting for a Hungarian statute to copy them out. What is being settled at national level is who supervises the rules, and Hungary is in the process of designating its national authorities during 2025 and 2026.
How the AI Act Applies
The AI Act takes a risk-based approach and is being phased in over time. The prohibitions on certain unacceptable AI practices have applied since 2 February 2025, obligations for general-purpose AI models since 2 August 2025, and the bulk of the high-risk rules follow from 2 August 2026. For a typical online shop, the part that bites soonest is not the high-risk regime but the transparency duties in Article 50, which apply to everyday tools like chatbots and AI-generated content.
Article 50 Transparency for Online Shops
Article 50 is the provision most Hungarian webshops need to understand. It requires that people are told when they are dealing with AI rather than a human, and that certain AI-generated material is marked as such. The point is that a customer should not be misled into thinking a machine is a person, or that synthetic content is genuine.
- Disclose AI chatbots, so a customer knows they are interacting with an AI system and not a human agent.
- Label AI-generated content, so images, text or audio produced by AI are identifiable as such.
- Disclose deep fakes, so manipulated image, audio or video content is clearly flagged.
For most shops this is manageable. If you run an AI support chatbot, make clear it is automated. If you use AI to generate product imagery or marketing copy that could be mistaken for real photography or a genuine recording, mark it appropriately. If you publish anything resembling a deep fake, flag it. These are practical, front-of-house measures rather than heavy engineering work.
Supervision in Hungary
Because the AI Act is directly applicable, the rules already exist in Hungary; what is being put in place is the supervisory structure. National authorities to oversee and enforce the AI Act are being designated across the EU during 2025 and 2026, and Hungary is part of that process. The practical takeaway is that the substance is settled even while the identity and procedures of the competent authority are being finalised, so treat the supervisory detail as a developing picture rather than a fixed checklist.
Language and Local Practice
Dealings with authorities and consumer-facing disclosures in Hungary will generally be in Hungarian. If your shop operates primarily in another language, plan for Hungarian-language wording of your AI disclosures — the notice that a chatbot is automated, or that content is AI-generated — so that Hungarian consumers actually understand it. National specifics remain qualitative, so treat the detail as a picture rather than a definitive rulebook.
Practical Steps for Online Sellers
- Map where you use AI on your shop — chatbots, generated imagery, generated copy.
- Add a clear disclosure wherever customers interact with an AI chatbot.
- Label AI-generated content and flag any deep fakes.
- Provide these disclosures in Hungarian for Hungarian customers.
- Keep watch as Hungary designates its national AI authority.
For the EU-wide picture, see our overview of the EU AI Act and our complete AI Act guide. For a country hub, visit our Hungary page.
This article is educational, not legal advice.