In short. A website business is a deployer when it uses an AI chatbot under its authority, and it can also meet the provider definition when it commissions and supplies the system under its own name.
Definition: As of 17 October 2026, a business operating a website chatbot is an AI deployer under Article 3(4) of the EU AI Act when the chatbot qualifies as an AI system and the business uses it under its authority. A business that develops the system, or has it developed, and puts it into service under its own name or trademark can also meet the provider definition in Article 3(3).
Key facts
- Article 3(4) of the AI Act published in the Official Journal excludes personal non-professional use from the deployer definition.
- Article 3(3) of the consolidated AI Act covers providers supplying systems for payment or free of charge.
- The Commission's transparency FAQ explains that a legal person remains a deployer when contractors operate the system on its behalf and under its responsibility and control.
How does the definition apply to a website chatbot?
Article 3(1) of the consolidated AI Act defines an AI system through characteristics including varying levels of autonomy and inference from inputs to produce outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments. Those outputs can include content or recommendations.
Applying Article 3(4) to a website chatbot therefore involves establishing that it meets that AI system definition and that the business uses it under its authority. A business using such a chatbot for its commercial activity falls within that definition; the personal non-professional exception concerns personal use.
When can the business also be a provider?
Article 3(3) of the AI Act includes an organisation that has an AI system developed and puts it into service under its own name or trademark. Commissioning development can therefore bring a website business within the provider definition, even when another company writes the software.
Article 3(11) defines putting into service as supplying an AI system for first use directly to a deployer or for the supplier's own use in the EU, for its intended purpose. Applied together, these definitions mean a business can be both provider and deployer of a system developed for its own use under its name.
What if employees or an agency operate the chatbot?
The Commission's transparency FAQ explains that employees acting under a legal person's instructions and control are not separate deployers. It also keeps the legal person in the deployer role where contractors or freelancers operate the system on its behalf and under its responsibility and control. These explanations apply the authority test in Article 3(4) to work carried out through other people.
Which scope and transparency rules matter?
Article 2(1)(b) of the consolidated AI Act covers deployers established or located in the EU. Article 2(1)(c) also covers providers and deployers outside the EU where the system's output is used in the EU.
Article 50(1) assigns providers the duty to design and develop systems intended to interact directly with people so that people are informed of that interaction with AI. It includes an exception where this is obvious to a reasonably well-informed, observant and circumspect person, considering the circumstances and context. A website business that also meets the provider definition must assess that provider obligation.
Related terms
- AI Act Article 50 (transparency obligations)
- What does AI Act Article 4 require of staff using website AI tools?
- AI Act application timeline
FAQ
Do I have to develop the chatbot to be a deployer?
Article 3(4) of the AI Act defines deployment by use under authority. It contains no requirement that you develop the system.
Can I be a provider if the chatbot is free?
Yes. Article 3(3) of the consolidated AI Act expressly covers payment and free supply, provided the other elements of the provider definition are met.
Does hiring an agency remove my business's deployer role?
Your business remains a deployer where the agency operates the system on its behalf and under its responsibility and control, following the Commission's transparency FAQ.
Sources
- EUR-Lex, "Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (Artificial Intelligence Act)", 12 July 2024
- EUR-Lex, "Consolidated text: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689", 27 July 2026
- European Commission, "Transparency obligations under Article 50 of the AI Act", updated 24 July 2026
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