Art.96

Article 96 – Guidelines from the Commission on the Implementation of this Regulation

General SME Relevant ~2 min read · 493 words

Article 96 requires the Commission to issue guidelines on the implementation of the EU AI Act. These guidelines are not legally binding in the same way as the regulation itself, but they are the authoritative interpretation from the body responsible for enforcing the Act — making them essential reading for any business trying to understand how the Act will be applied in practice.

⚠ Medium compliance impact for SMEs

WHAT THE ARTICLE IS ABOUT

Official Commission guidance on how the Act is applied

Article 96 establishes the Commission’s obligation to produce guidelines that clarify how the AI Act’s provisions should be implemented. Guidelines address areas of potential ambiguity, provide practical examples, and help businesses and national authorities apply the Act consistently. They are the most practical compliance resource the Commission produces.

WHAT IT SAYS

Commission must issue guidelines — SME needs explicitly included

The Commission shall issue guidelines on the implementation of the AI Act — these are not optional or discretionary, the Commission is required to produce them
Guidelines must be issued taking into account the specific interests and needs of SMEs including startups
Guidelines will cover the practical implementation of key provisions — the Commission published GPAI guidelines in July 2025 and prohibited AI practices guidelines in February 2025
Guidelines on Article 6 (high-risk classification) and practical examples of high-risk and non-high-risk use cases were required by 2 February 2026
The Commission may update guidelines as the Act’s application develops and as technology evolves
Guidelines are published in the Official Journal of the EU and on the AI Office website
Member state authorities and businesses are expected to take guidelines into account when applying or complying with the Act — while not legally binding, they carry significant interpretive authority

WHO IS AFFECTED

All businesses and authorities operating under the AI Act

All providers, deployers, importers and distributors — guidelines provide practical compliance guidance
National competent authorities — guidelines are their primary interpretive reference for applying the Act
The Commission which must produce and update the guidelines
SMEs specifically — the Act explicitly requires SME needs to be taken into account in guideline design

WHAT IT MEANS FOR SMES

Guidelines are your most practical compliance resource — read them

Commission guidelines are the most actionable compliance documents the Act produces — they translate legal text into practical implementation guidance with real examples
The Article 6 guidelines on high-risk classification published in early 2026 are particularly important — they include a comprehensive list of practical examples of what is and is not high-risk; check your product against them
GPAI guidelines published by the AI Office in 2025 are essential reading if you use or build on foundation AI models
Guidelines are free, publicly available, and specifically designed with SME needs in mind — there is no excuse not to read the ones relevant to your business
Track guideline publications actively — the Commission will continue to issue new guidelines as the Act is implemented; subscribe to AI Office updates to be notified when new guidance is published
Where a guideline conflicts with your current compliance approach, the guideline represents the Commission’s interpretation of the Act — update your approach accordingly

Article 6 — High-risk classification (subject of the first major guideline publication required by February 2026)
Article 95 — Voluntary codes of conduct (guidelines support code development and application)
Article 64 — AI Office (publishes and updates guidelines on the AI Act)
Article 62 — SME measures (SME needs must be taken into account in guidelines — both articles have this requirement)

← Back to the Guide