Europe's AI law moves toward enforcement

Europe's landmark AI law has transitioned from an idea to active enforcement, with a major deadline arriving on August 2, 2026. The law, which aims to set global AI standards, faces the challenge of being implemented in a way that companies can follow. Patrick Van Eecke, a partner at Cooley in Brussels who advises on AI Act compliance, described the legislation as 'messy.' The AI Act could become a global standard without being a direct copy of EU rules. Companies may struggle with execution, but the final compliance framework could influence global operations. Anthropic has already announced that future Claude models will include watermarks to comply with the EU AI Act. Transparency requirements that took effect in August are just one part of the AI Act's rollout. While Europe may not get the rest of the world to copy its law exactly, it may not need to. The law's influence could still shape global AI standards.