Cybersecurity news covers EU AI Act enforcement because the first big fines reset everyone's budget. This calculator estimates your exposure from company size and AI use — then prices the alternative: doing nothing.
Fines reach up to 35 million euros or 7 percent of global turnover for the worst violations — but the burden is mostly operational: risk assessments, documentation, human oversight, and audit trails. This calculator estimates your exposure from company size and AI use, then prices the alternative: doing nothing. Cybersecurity news keeps covering enforcement because the first big fines reset everyone's budget priorities.
The EU AI Act compliance burden is the total cost of meeting the Act's duties — risk classification, technical documentation, human oversight, and audit readiness — plus the fine exposure for falling short.
Pick your company size, sector and AI footprint. Get an ESTIMATE of EU AI Act compliance hours and cost per obligation — plus your real EU AI Act fines exposure for doing nothing.
The EU AI Act has three fine tiers (Article 99): up to €35 million or 7% of worldwide turnover for prohibited AI practices; up to €15 million or 3% for most breaches including Article 50 transparency obligations; up to €7.5 million or 1% for misleading information. SMEs pay the lower of the flat amount or the percentage.
It depends on company size, sector and AI footprint. The calculator above gives an ESTIMATE — hours and cost per obligation (transparency marking, risk assessment, documentation, human oversight). The biggest cost drivers are usually AI agents and biometrics, which multiply oversight and documentation work. These are planning estimates, not legal advice.
Breaches of the Article 50 transparency obligations fall under the middle fine band: up to €15 million or 3% of worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. Violations of the prohibited practices in Article 5 reach up to €35 million or 7%. Small and medium enterprises benefit from a lower-of rule on these ceilings.
Chatbots trigger Article 50: users must be told they are interacting with AI at first interaction, unless it is obvious from context. If the chatbot generates synthetic content, that content must also be marked as AI-generated.
Yes — the Act applies regardless of company size when AI systems are placed on the EU market. SMEs get some relief, including a lower-of rule on fine ceilings and simplified measures under the Digital Omnibus, but the transparency obligations still apply.
The Article 50 transparency obligations became applicable on 2 August 2026, and national authorities can enforce them now. Machine-readable marking requirements for already-deployed systems have a transition period running to 2 December 2026.