EU designates ChatGPT a Very Large Search Engine under DSA
TL;DR
- ChatGPT reported approximately 159.1 million average monthly EU users, more than triple the 45 million designation threshold, meaning the Commission acted well after OpenAI's EU scale was beyond doubt.
- The VLOSE classification turns on ChatGPT's live web-search function, not its AI product category, giving regulators a capability-based template to extend to Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity as they scale.
- Platforms have until December 2026 to comply; non-compliance risks fines up to 6% of global annual turnover, with the X/Twitter precedent of a 120 million euro fine in December 2025 as the enforcement baseline.
The European Commission has designated ChatGPT a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act, making OpenAI's chatbot the first standalone AI service brought under the bloc's toughest platform rules. Reddit and Roblox were added the same day as Very Large Online Platforms, Euronews reported.
All three crossed the 45 million monthly EU user threshold that triggers direct Commission oversight. ChatGPT reported 159 million monthly active users over the six-month period ending March 2026; Reddit reported 57.2 million; Roblox roughly 48 million.
The Commission classified ChatGPT as a "hybrid service" that qualifies as an online search engine "because it can engage with and respond to users' prompts and queries, including by searching the web." The three companies have four months, until the end of November, to conduct annual systemic risk assessments covering illegal content, minor protection, mental and physical wellbeing, fundamental rights, electoral processes and public security, submit to independent audits, and share data with regulators and vetted researchers.
"These new designations mean that ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox will now be subject to a higher level of scrutiny and accountability in the European Union, commensurate with their significant impact on our citizens and society," said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.
Non-compliance can cost up to 6% of global annual turnover. The DSA has produced roughly €870 million in fines to date, including €550 million against AliExpress, €200 million against Temu and €120 million against X.
The Commission had signalled the move in late July; today's designation makes it formal. It lands a month after the AI Act's content-labeling and watermarking rules took effect.
What others are reporting
-
European Commission Read →
First-party official announcement confirming regulatory basis, four-month compliance window, and the split of supervisory authority between Coimisiún na Meán (Ireland) and ACM (Netherlands).
These services declared that they reach at least 45 million average monthly users in the EU and thus meet the threshold for designation.
-
PYMNTS Read →
The only source to include direct compliance-intent statements from all three designated platforms; also positions ChatGPT as one of just three services at VLOSE tier alongside Google Search and Bing.
These new designations mean that ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox will now be held to a higher standard of scrutiny and accountability in the European Union.
-
CryptoBriefing Read →
Pins OpenAI's actual EU user count at 159.1 million and frames the December 2026 deadline against a 6% global annual turnover fine risk, giving the enforcement stakes a concrete number.
ChatGPT didn't just cross that threshold. It obliterated it, reporting approximately 159.1 million average monthly users across the bloc.
-
Tech-ish Read →
Details exactly what compliance requires by December 2026 (risk assessments, audits, ad libraries, academic data access) and anchors enforcement credibility to the 120 million euro X/Twitter fine from December 2025.
A chatbot gives you one answer in a confident voice, with sources folded in or missing altogether.
-
European Interest Read →
Notes the designations bring the total count of DSA-designated major platforms to 28 and maps each new entrant to its assigned national Digital Services Coordinator.
Originally reported by euronews.com
Read the original article →Original headline: EU Puts ChatGPT Under DSA as First AI Service, Reddit and Roblox Added to VLOP List