EU designates ChatGPT a Very Large Online Search Engine under Digital Services Act

Brussels, Belgium. The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act, subjecting OpenAI’s service to additional EU oversight and obligations.

The designation follows OpenAI’s declaration that ChatGPT has at least 45 million average monthly users in the European Union, the threshold for the bloc’s strongest DSA requirements.

Additional obligations

The Digital Services Act applies to online platforms and search engines across the EU. Services exceeding the 45-million-user threshold must meet further requirements because of their potential to create systemic risks.

Under EU law, systemic risks are widespread threats that may affect society, financial stability or the internal market.

OpenAI has four months to comply with the additional requirements, which are due to apply by the end of November 2026. The company will be required to assess and mitigate systemic risks linked to ChatGPT and its algorithmic systems.

These risks include illegal content, the protection of minors, users’ physical and mental well-being, fundamental rights, elections and public security.

Search engine classification

The Commission considers ChatGPT a hybrid service because it can search the web and provide information in response to users’ questions, in addition to operating as an AI chatbot.

This places the service within the DSA definition of an online search engine and brings it into a regulatory framework designed for the largest and most influential internet services.

Regulatory supervision

The designation gives the European Commission greater powers to examine ChatGPT’s functionalities and, where relevant, related systems to determine whether OpenAI complies with the DSA.

Supervision will be conducted in cooperation with Ireland’s Digital Services Coordinator, as ChatGPT is established in Ireland.

The designation does not mean the EU has found ChatGPT unsafe or that OpenAI has violated the law. It requires the company to take greater responsibility for identifying and reducing potential harms associated with the service’s scale of use.