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CHAPTER I

AI Act Article 2: Scope

1. This Regulation applies to:

(a) providers placing on the market or putting into service AI systems or placing on the market general-purpose AI models in the Union, irrespective of whether those providers are established or located within the Union or in a third country;

(b) deployers of AI systems that have their place of establishment or are located within the Union;

(c) providers and deployers of AI systems that have their place of establishment or are located in a third country, where the output produced by the AI system is used in the Union;

(d) importers and distributors of AI systems;

(e) product manufacturers placing on the market or putting into service an AI system together with their product and under their own name or trademark;

(f) authorised representatives of providers, which are not established in the Union;

(g) affected persons that are located in the Union.

2. For AI systems classified as high-risk AI systems in accordance with Article 6(1) related to products covered by the Union harmonisation legislation listed in Section B of Annex I, only Article 6(1), Articles 102 to 109 and Article 112 apply. Article 57 applies only in so far as the requirements for high-risk AI systems under this Regulation have been integrated in that Union harmonisation legislation.

3. This Regulation does not apply to areas outside the scope of Union law, and shall not, in any event, affect the competences of the Member States concerning national security, regardless of the type of entity entrusted by the Member States with carrying out tasks in relation to those competences.

This Regulation does not apply to AI systems where and in so far they are placed on the market, put into service, or used with or without modification exclusively for military, defence or national security purposes, regardless of the type of entity carrying out those activities.

This Regulation does not apply to AI systems which are not placed on the market or put into service in the Union, where the output is used in the Union exclusively for military, defence or national security purposes, regardless of the type of entity carrying out those activities.

4. This Regulation applies neither to public authorities in a third country nor to international organisations falling within the scope of this Regulation pursuant to paragraph 1, where those authorities or organisations use AI systems in the framework of international cooperation or agreements for law enforcement and judicial cooperation with the Union or with one or more Member States, provided that such a third country or international organisation provides adequate safeguards with respect to the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.

5. This Regulation shall not affect the application of the provisions on the liability of providers of intermediary services as set out in Chapter II of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.

6. This Regulation does not apply to AI systems or AI models, including their output, specifically developed and put into service for the sole purpose of scientific research and development.

7. Union law on the protection of personal data, privacy and the confidentiality of communications applies to personal data processed in connection with the rights and obligations laid down in this Regulation. This Regulation shall not affect Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or (EU) 2018/1725, or Directive 2002/58/EC or (EU) 2016/680, without prejudice to Article 10(5) and Article 59 of this Regulation.

8. This Regulation does not apply to any research, testing or development activity regarding AI systems or AI models prior to their being placed on the market or put into service. Such activities shall be conducted in accordance with applicable Union law. Testing in real world conditions shall not be covered by that exclusion.

9. This Regulation is without prejudice to the rules laid down by other Union legal acts related to consumer protection and product safety.

10. This Regulation does not apply to obligations of deployers who are natural persons using AI systems in the course of a purely personal non-professional activity.

11. This Regulation does not preclude the Union or Member States from maintaining or introducing laws, regulations or administrative provisions which are more favourable to workers in terms of protecting their rights in respect of the use of AI systems by employers, or from encouraging or allowing the application of collective agreements which are more favourable to workers.

12. This Regulation does not apply to AI systems released under free and open-source licences, unless they are placed on the market or put into service as high-risk AI systems or as an AI system that falls under Article 5 or 50.

What this article means in practice

Written by Engage Compliance. The text above is the article itself, reproduced from its official source and unchanged. Everything in this section is ours, and last read against the current text on 2026-09-07.

Article 2 is the scope article, and paragraph 1(c) is the one a company outside the EU should read twice: the Regulation reaches providers and deployers established in a third country where the OUTPUT produced by the AI system is used in the Union. Nothing has to be placed on the market for that limb to bite. Paragraph 1(f) also names authorised representatives themselves as a category the Regulation applies to.

Who it binds

  • Providers placing AI systems on the market or into service, or placing general-purpose AI models on the market, in the Union, whether established inside it or in a third country (Article 2(1)(a)).
  • Deployers established or located in the Union (Article 2(1)(b)), and providers and deployers in a third country where the system's OUTPUT is used in the Union (Article 2(1)(c)).
  • Importers and distributors (Article 2(1)(d)), product manufacturers placing an AI system with their product under their own name or trademark (Article 2(1)(e)), authorised representatives of providers not established in the Union (Article 2(1)(f)), and affected persons located in the Union (Article 2(1)(g)).
  • It does not apply outside the scope of Union law, or to systems used exclusively for military, defence or national security purposes, whatever kind of entity is carrying that out (Article 2(3)).
  • It does not apply to systems or models developed and put into service for the sole purpose of scientific research and development (Article 2(6)), nor to research, testing or development activity before a system is placed on the market (Article 2(8)). Testing in real world conditions is expressly outside that exclusion.

What it makes somebody do

  • You, whoever you are. Identify which of the seven categories in Article 2(1) you fall into, because the obligations that follow differ completely between provider, deployer, importer, distributor and representative.
  • You, if you are outside the EU. Test Article 2(1)(c) separately from Article 2(1)(a). Output used in the Union is a distinct route in, and a company that sells nothing in the EU can still be caught by it.
  • You, if you are an authorised representative. Note that Article 2(1)(f) makes the Regulation apply to YOU as a category in its own right, which is why the tasks in Article 22(3) and Article 54(3) are the representative's own obligations rather than the provider's delegated ones.

What it does not say

  • It does not exempt everything a research team touches. Article 2(6) and 2(8) are narrow: the sole purpose of scientific research and development, and activity before market placement. Article 2(8) then says testing in real world conditions is not covered by the exclusion at all.
  • The military and national security carve-out in Article 2(3) is about PURPOSE, not about who the customer is. A dual-use system used exclusively for those purposes is out; the same system sold commercially is not.
  • It does not displace data protection law. Article 2(7) says Union law on personal data, privacy and confidentiality of communications continues to apply, and the Regulation does not affect the GDPR.
  • It does not override the Digital Services Act's intermediary liability rules. Article 2(5) preserves Chapter II of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065.
  • Article 2(2) is a genuine narrowing that is easy to miss: for high-risk systems under Article 6(1) related to products covered by Annex I Section B, only a handful of articles apply.

How it sits beside the other mandates

  • Article 2 and Article 6 answer different questions and both have to be answered. Article 2 asks whether the Regulation reaches you at all; Article 6 asks whether your system is high-risk, which is what makes Article 22 engage.
  • Article 2(7) preserving the GDPR is why an AI Act appointment and a GDPR Article 27 appointment sit side by side rather than one absorbing the other. A third-country provider of an Annex III system almost always needs both.
  • Article 2(1)(c) is the limb that catches companies that thought they had no EU exposure. Output used in the Union is a lower bar than placing a product on the market, and it is the one worth checking before concluding you are out.

Source text: EUR-Lex, Official Journal HTML (CELEX 32024R1689). The parser was validated against the anchor articles verified in REP-08.