OpenAI
What ChatGPT's new EU "search engine" label means for you
Brussels now regulates ChatGPT the same way it regulates Google Search, with fresh rules on risk, ads and transparency.
The answer
EU designated ChatGPT a "very large online search engine" under the Digital Services Act.
If you use ChatGPT in the EU, the tool you know is now being treated, legally, like a search engine. On 31 August 2026 the European Commission put ChatGPT in the same regulatory bracket as Google Search and Microsoft Bing.
What happened
The Commission designated ChatGPT a "Very Large Online Search Engine" (VLOSE) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU's main law for policing large online platforms. It's the first time a standalone AI chatbot has been placed in this category. Reddit and Roblox were designated separately as "Very Large Online Platforms" the same day.
The Commission explained its reasoning plainly: "ChatGPT is a hybrid service that qualifies as an online search engine under the DSA", because it answers questions and can also search the web for users. The designation applies once a service passes 45 million average monthly users in the EU. OpenAI told regulators that ChatGPT search had around 159.1 million average monthly active users in the EU over the six months to 31 March 2026, well above the threshold.
With this move, the Commission has now designated 28 platforms and search engines as large enough to fall under the DSA's toughest rules, according to the European Commission.
What it means for you
OpenAI now has until the end of December 2026 to meet a set of extra obligations designed to protect users. These include:
- Assessing and reducing risks such as illegal content, threats to elections, harm to fundamental rights, and risks to minors
- Giving outside researchers access to data so they can check how the system behaves
- Explaining clearly how ChatGPT ranks and recommends results, and offering a version that isn't personalised to you
- Not targeting adverts at minors or based on sensitive personal traits
- Submitting to independent risk audits every year
For everyday users in the EU, this should mean more transparency about how ChatGPT's answers are generated and more scrutiny of how it handles sensitive topics. If OpenAI doesn't comply, the Commission can fine it up to 6% of its global annual revenue, a serious enough penalty to put real weight behind the rules.
What happens next
OpenAI's compliance deadline falls at the end of December 2026. Separately, transparency rules under the EU's AI Act also became enforceable in August 2026, and according to Search Engine Journal, reports suggest these EU rules are part of the reason OpenAI and Meta have been holding back some AI agent features from European users. Whether ChatGPT's search features change shape for EU users once the new obligations kick in has not yet been confirmed.
Sources
- Commission designates ChatGPT, Reddit, Roblox under Digital Services Act — European Commission, 31 August 2026
- ChatGPT Is Now A "Very Large Online Search Engine" In The EU — Search Engine Journal, 1 September 2026