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

The EU AI Act — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — is the European Union’s comprehensive law on artificial intelligence. As an EU regulation it applies directly in Ireland, without a separate Irish statute to bring it into force. An Irish online shop that uses AI tools is bound by the same core rules as a shop anywhere else in the Union.

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

A directly applicable EU regulation

The AI Act is being introduced in phases. 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 relevant to shops belong to this same phased rollout.

Because the regulation applies directly, Irish shops do not wait for a national law. Each Member State instead designates the national authorities that supervise and enforce the rules, and — across the EU, Ireland included — that designation is still being finalised during 2025 and 2026.

Provider or deployer?

The Act separates providers, who develop and place AI systems on the market, from deployers, who use them. Nearly all online shops are deployers. If you use a bought-in chatbot, a third-party recommendation engine, or a commercial AI image tool, you are a deployer, with lighter obligations than a provider.

For most Irish shops, the practical duties come from Article 50 on transparency.

Article 50 transparency duties

Article 50 requires people to be told when they are dealing with AI. For an Irish shop this covers:

• Chatbots: customers must be able to tell they are interacting with an AI system, unless it 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 seldom applies to routine product descriptions.

In everyday terms, the two triggers an Irish shop is most likely to meet are an AI chatbot and AI-generated marketing visuals.

Disclosures in English

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

This sits comfortably with the way Irish consumers are already informed, where customer-facing information is routinely provided in English.

Enforcement in Ireland

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

Ireland is designating and setting up its national AI authorities, a process still being completed across much of the EU during 2025 and 2026. Because the obligations come directly from the regulation, Irish shops should act on the transparency requirements now rather than waiting for the national framework to be finalised.

Practical steps for Irish shops

• Map where AI appears on your site, from chatbots to AI-generated media.
• Add a clear English-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.