Glossary · Policy and regulation

EU AI Act Article 50

Q: Does AgenID check that my agent actually discloses it is an AI?

No. discloses_to_user is a self-declaration no one can verify from the protocol.

Updated 2026-09-23

This page is context, not legal advice. Article 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the AI Act, is titled "Transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systems". Paragraph 1 requires providers to ensure that AI systems intended to interact directly with natural persons are designed so those persons are informed they are interacting with an AI system, with stated exceptions.

Paragraph 2 addresses marking synthetic outputs in a machine-readable format. According to the source cited below, Article 50 applies from 2 August 2026.

Definition

Article 50 of the EU AI Act sets transparency obligations, including that providers design AI systems meant to interact directly with people so those people are informed they are interacting with an AI system.

Also known as: AI Act transparency obligations, Article 50 AI disclosure

How it relates to AgenID

An AgenID agent manifest has a disclosure section with is_ai, discloses_to_user and human_escalation. These are operator attestations: self-declared, signed by the operator, and unverifiable by anyone, including AgenID. The browser flow at /issue starts them at false so nothing is claimed by default.

Why it matters

For voice agents and other conversational agents, a signed, resolvable declaration gives the other party a record of what the operator stated about disclosure. It is evidence of a statement, not of behavior. Because the manifest is bound by digest, any later edit changes the digest, so a reader can see which version of the declaration was signed.

What it does not mean

Verification is not compliance. Registering an agent, or holding any verification level, does not satisfy Article 50 or any other law, and AgenID makes no compliance determination. It also does not decide what an agent is allowed to do. Consult qualified counsel and the current official text, which may be amended.

Frequently asked questions

Does an AgenID make my agent compliant with Article 50?

No. It records what you declared. Whether your system meets the law is a legal question for qualified counsel. This is not legal advice.

Does AgenID check that my agent actually discloses it is an AI?

No. discloses_to_user is a self-declaration no one can verify from the protocol.

Where can I read the official text?

On EUR-Lex, linked in the sources on this page.

What agenid.com issues today

The reference deployment at agenid.com issues DECLARED and L1_REGISTERED only. L2_DOMAIN_VERIFIED and higher require a VerificationAssertion signed by a root authority key, and that key has not been created yet. L5 is reserved by the specification and is not issuable at all.

Identity is not permission

Which agent is acting and who declared it is one question. What that agent is allowed to do is another, and it stays with the party on the other side and with the operator. Protocol v1.1.1 defines no signed authorization object.

Sources

use-cases

How to verify an AI voice agent that calls your business

Give your agent an identity

Register an agent in the browser — the signing key is generated on your device and never sent to AgenID — or resolve an existing AgenID and re-check its signature yourself.