Rebel, if you’ve been putting off thinking about AI regulation because it sounds like a legal headache, here’s your nudge: as of 2 August 2026, it’s not optional anymore. Sooz Young joins us to translate the EU AI Act into what marketers and small businesses actually need to do this week.
About Sooz Young
Sooz Young provides technology coaching, digital skills training and AI strategy for businesses across Scotland and the UK.
- Website: Click here
Know What Actually Changed (And What Didn’t)
Article 50 of the EU AI Act came into force on 2 August 2026, and it’s not just a big-corporation problem. If you use AI to create or meaningfully shape content that reaches an audience, you’re a “deployer” under the Act, and you now have real disclosure duties.
“August 2nd is a huge change that now means that any businesses that are using AI and are using AI wrongly against the EU AI Act can now be fined and prosecuted through the governance of the EU AI Act.”
Sooz Young
Non-compliance carries fines of up to €15 million or 3% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher. The one bit of good news: it’s not retroactive, only content from 2 August onward is affected.
- Check whether you’re a “provider” (you build AI tools) or a “deployer” (you use them professionally). Most marketers are deployers
- Nothing you published before 2 August needs relabeling, don’t panic-edit your back catalogue
- Bookmark the actual fine figures so you can make the case internally if anyone asks “does this really apply to us?”
Build Your AI Paper Trail Before Anyone Asks For It
Compliance here isn’t about a big legal overhaul, it’s documentation. Sooz’s advice: treat it like you treated GDPR. Know what tools you use, who has access, and how client data moves through them.
- List every AI tool you use for work (ChatGPT, Claude, Canva, Copilot) in one simple tracker, noting purpose and whether it’s a free or paid account
- Move to paid AI accounts where you can, free tiers often mean you don’t fully own or control what happens to the content you put in
- Log any AI training or certification you complete, and add it to your LinkedIn profile. “Competent” under the Act means you can show your working, not just that you’re careful
Label AI Content, Then Let Your Humanity Do The Rest
Content that’s AI-generated or substantially AI-shaped needs to be disclosed, visuals especially. Sooz’s own practical rule of thumb (not a legal threshold, there isn’t one written into the Act) is to keep AI’s role to roughly 30% of a piece, with your own words framing the start and end. Where the actual leverage is, though: this is a trust economy, and staying visibly human is what differentiates you.
- Add a simple disclosure line (“created with AI support”) to any post, graphic, or email meaningfully shaped by AI, particularly images
- Don’t treat the 30% figure as a legal rule, treat it as Sooz’s working benchmark for staying clearly, recognisably human
- If you’re a freelancer or VA creating content on a client’s AI account, get clarity in writing on who’s liable if something’s flagged
Being compliant and being trustworthy aren’t the same project, but they’re pulling in the same direction. Do the documentation, then let your actual voice carry the rest.
Sooz is running a free EU AI Act masterclass for small businesses and startups on Tuesday 1 September at 1pm on Zoom: RSVP here if you want the deeper walkthrough.