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CHAPTER V · SECTION 2

AI Act Article 53: Obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models

Amended text. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, the Digital Omnibus on AI, amended this Regulation with effect from 27 July 2026. The articles it changed, and the six it inserted (4a, 60a, 75a, 75b, 75c and 75d), are shown here in their consolidated wording, taken from the official consolidated text of 27 July 2026. The recitals are those of the original Regulation. Consolidated text on EUR-Lex (CELEX 02024R1689-20260727).

This article was not changed by the amendment.

1. Providers of general-purpose AI models shall:

(a) draw up and keep up-to-date the technical documentation of the model, including its training and testing process and the results of its evaluation, which shall contain, at a minimum, the information set out in Annex XI for the purpose of providing it, upon request, to the AI Office and the national competent authorities;

(b) draw up, keep up-to-date and make available information and documentation to providers of AI systems who intend to integrate the general-purpose AI model into their AI systems. Without prejudice to the need to observe and protect intellectual property rights and confidential business information or trade secrets in accordance with Union and national law, the information and documentation shall:

(i) enable providers of AI systems to have a good understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the general-purpose AI model and to comply with their obligations pursuant to this Regulation; and

(ii) contain, at a minimum, the elements set out in Annex XII;

(c) put in place a policy to comply with Union law on copyright and related rights, and in particular to identify and comply with, including through state-of-the-art technologies, a reservation of rights expressed pursuant to Article 4(3) of Directive (EU) 2019/790;

(d) draw up and make publicly available a sufficiently detailed summary about the content used for training of the general-purpose AI model, according to a template provided by the AI Office.

2. The obligations set out in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), shall not apply to providers of AI models that are released under a free and open-source licence that allows for the access, usage, modification, and distribution of the model, and whose parameters, including the weights, the information on the model architecture, and the information on model usage, are made publicly available. This exception shall not apply to general-purpose AI models with systemic risks.

3. Providers of general-purpose AI models shall cooperate as necessary with the Commission and the national competent authorities in the exercise of their competences and powers pursuant to this Regulation.

4. Providers of general-purpose AI models may rely on codes of practice within the meaning of Article 56 to demonstrate compliance with the obligations set out in paragraph 1 of this Article, until a harmonised standard is published. Compliance with European harmonised standards grants providers the presumption of conformity to the extent that those standards cover those obligations. Providers of general-purpose AI models who do not adhere to an approved code of practice or do not comply with a European harmonised standard shall demonstrate alternative adequate means of compliance for assessment by the Commission.

5. For the purpose of facilitating compliance with Annex XI, in particular points 2 (d) and (e) thereof, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 97 to detail measurement and calculation methodologies with a view to allowing for comparable and verifiable documentation.

6. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 97(2) to amend Annexes XI and XII in light of evolving technological developments.

7. Any information or documentation obtained pursuant to this Article, including trade secrets, shall be treated in accordance with the confidentiality obligations set out in Article 78.

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 2026-10-14.

General-purpose AI model providers must document their models, inform downstream system providers, maintain a copyright-compliance policy and publish a training-content summary. Article 53 gives a limited open-source exception for two documentation duties, leaving the copyright and summary duties to be assessed separately.

Who it binds

  • Article 53(1) addresses providers of general-purpose AI models. A company using a finished AI system should not assume it is the model provider merely because the system contains such a model.
  • The exception in Article 53(2) depends on the specified free and open-source license, public parameters and model information. It does not apply to general-purpose models with systemic risks.

What it makes somebody do

  • The model provider. Keep technical documentation up to date, including training, testing and evaluation information, with the Annex XI minimum and availability on request under Article 53(1)(a).
  • The model provider. Give integrating AI-system providers current information meeting the Annex XII minimum and enabling understanding of capabilities, limitations and their obligations under Article 53(1)(b), respecting the stated intellectual-property and confidentiality protections.
  • The model provider. Maintain a Union copyright-compliance policy, including identifying and respecting the specified rights reservations, under Article 53(1)(c).
  • The model provider. Publish a sufficiently detailed training-content summary using the AI Office template under Article 53(1)(d), and cooperate with competent authorities under Article 53(3).

What it does not say

  • Article 53(2) exempts only paragraph 1(a) and paragraph 1(b) where its conditions are met. An open-source release is not a blanket exemption from the whole article.
  • Article 53(4) permits codes of practice pending a harmonized standard, and gives a presumption only to the extent a European harmonized standard covers the obligations. Alternative adequate compliance means remain subject to Commission assessment as stated there.
  • Public training summaries and protected documentation are different disclosures. Article 53(7) applies confidentiality obligations to information obtained under the article, including trade secrets; it does not remove the public-summary duty.

Source: official text on EUR-Lex. Last checked 5 October 2026.