If you noted 2 August 2026 in your compliance calendar, change the entry. The EU AI Act deadline for high-risk systems has moved, and the change is now law rather than a proposal. Yet a deferral is not an amnesty. Several duties landed on schedule, and one new set arrives this December.
Which EU AI Act deadline actually moved
The Digital Omnibus on AI was published in the Official Journal on 24 July 2026 and entered into force on 27 July. Under it, obligations for stand-alone high-risk systems now apply by 2 December 2027 at the latest. High-risk systems embedded in products get until 2 August 2028. The Commission’s own note, AI Omnibus enters into force, is the primary source. The stated reason is prosaic: the standards, the national authorities and the assessment bodies were not ready in time.
What did not move
This is the part small businesses keep missing. The bans on unacceptable practices and the AI literacy duty took effect back in February 2025. Transparency rules for general-purpose models followed in August 2025. Both stand. In addition, a fresh set of prohibited practices starts on 2 December 2026. Transparency duties around AI-generated content also remain in place, including for systems already on the market. Our earlier guide to what small businesses must actually do still describes the baseline correctly.
Are you even in scope?
Most Greek SMEs are deployers, not providers. Consequently the duties are lighter than the headlines imply. Run this quick check:
- Do you screen job applicants with AI? That is a high-risk use, so keep a human decision and a record.
- Do you publish AI-generated text, images or audio? Then say so where a reader could be misled.
- Does a chatbot answer your customers? Make clear that it is a machine, not a colleague.
- Has your team had any AI training? The literacy duty is already live and it is genuinely cheap to satisfy.
If you run a chatbot, the disclosure question is worth a second look at our post on adding an AI chatbot to your website.
Use the extra time properly
An extra year buys documentation, not silence. This EU AI Act deadline moved once, so plan as though it will not move again. Start an AI inventory: every tool, its purpose, the data it sees and the human who signs off. Next, write the short usage policy your team will actually read. Then keep an eye on the December prohibitions, because those apply whatever your size. Our post on what AI safety means for your business covers the internal rules worth writing down, and the regulation archive follows the EU rules as they land.
