AI Comply ShieldAdd an AI notice to WordPress
Short answer: If your chat plugin answers visitors with AI and people in the EU use it, add an AI notice to the plugin's welcome message, with a footer back-up in a Custom HTML block (block themes: Appearance > Editor; classic themes: Appearance > Widgets). Article 50(1) of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 August 2026. If you built the AI chat yourself, the duty is likely yours.
WordPress sites use dozens of different chat plugins, and a growing number of them answer visitors with AI. If EU visitors use that chat, Article 50(1) of the EU AI Act may require a clear notice. Here is when it applies and where to put it — whichever kind of WordPress theme you run.
When Article 50(1) can apply to your WordPress chat
Article 50(1) of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 August 2026. It requires that people are told when they are interacting with an AI system, unless it is already obvious. It is based on the visitor's location, so a WordPress site hosted anywhere is affected when EU visitors use an AI chat.
The key question is what your chat plugin does. A plugin that just connects visitors to you by message is human chat. A plugin that sends questions to an AI service and writes answers automatically — including many plugins that plug into large language model APIs — is an AI system, and those conversations need disclosure.
WordPress makes this easy to miss because the chat is often added by a plugin someone installed years ago and later upgraded to an "AI" mode. If you are not sure, open the plugin's settings and look for anything mentioning AI, GPT, a model name or an API key.
If you run WordPress Multisite, or several sites from one agency dashboard, each site that shows an AI chat needs its own notice. A footer change on one site does not carry over to the others, so check them one by one.
Who is legally responsible? It depends on the plugin. If you installed a ready-made AI chat plugin, Article 50(1) puts the duty on the company that makes it. If you or your developer built the AI chat yourselves - for example by connecting an AI model's API - you are likely the provider, and the duty is yours.
Article 50(5) adds that the information must be clear and distinguishable, given at the latest at the first interaction, and meet the applicable accessibility requirements. In practice: use real text, not only an icon, with enough contrast to read.
Where to put the notice in WordPress
Put the notice in the chat plugin's own greeting, and add the kit's snippet to your footer so it shows sitewide.
1. Block themes: edit the footer in the Site Editor
If your theme uses the Site Editor, go to Appearance > Editor, open your footer template part, add a Custom HTML block and paste the kit's snippet. The footer is shared, so it appears on every page.
2. Classic themes: use a footer widget
If your theme uses widgets, go to Appearance > Widgets, choose a footer widget area, add a Custom HTML widget and paste the snippet there.
3. Chat plugin greeting
Open your chat plugin's settings and add the notice to its welcome or first message. This is the most important step — it is what visitors read when the chat opens. If the plugin supports multiple languages, add each one.
4. If your site builder is different
Page builders often have their own footer builder with an HTML element. The idea is the same: an HTML block in the sitewide footer. You do not need to edit theme files.
5. Check it
Clear any caching plugin, then view the site on desktop and mobile. Run our free scan afterwards as a quick check that a notice is visible.
Menu names depend on your theme and plugins. If Appearance > Editor or Widgets isn't there, your theme or a builder plugin manages the footer instead.
Example notice line
This chat is answered by an AI assistant, not a person.
Keep it short and near the chat. If your plugin lets a human take over, you can add a second line saying how. The exact wording isn't set by the European Commission — it just needs to be clear.
What this page is not
We are not a partner of WordPress and are not affiliated with or endorsed by them. This page covers Article 50(1) chatbot transparency only — not the rest of the EU AI Act, such as high-risk systems, general-purpose AI models or AI-generated content labelling, and not GDPR. It is general information, not legal advice. If your AI use goes beyond a customer chat, get proper legal advice.
Sources
Maintained by Penn Ltd. Last checked against WordPress documentation and the regulation text in September 2026. General information, not legal advice.