How to Add an EU AI Act Article 50 AI Disclosure to WordPress (Step by Step)

• The fastest way to add an EU AI Act Article 50 disclosure to WordPress is a free plugin that renders the notice for you.
• With the Legalithm EU AI Act plugin: install, run a scan, choose a style and language, enable, and verify. Done in minutes.
• It runs locally, with no account and no data leaving your site.
• A compliant notice is short, honest, shown at the first interaction, and readable by assistive technology, for example "You are chatting with an AI assistant. Responses are AI-generated."
• Article 50 transparency applies from 2 August 2026; breaches sit in the EUR 15M / 3% penalty tier (Article 99(4)).

What you are adding, and why

If your WordPress site shows visitors an AI chatbot or AI-generated content, Article 50 of the EU AI Act requires you to make that clear. For chatbots, that means telling visitors, at the first interaction, that they are talking to an AI. For the full legal detail (who is covered, the narrow exception, penalties), see do I need to disclose my AI chatbot?. This guide is the practical implementation.

Two ways to do it

You can add the disclosure by hand or with a plugin.

By hand is workable for a single-language site with one placement. For anything more, a plugin is faster and less error-prone. This guide uses the free, local Legalithm EU AI Act plugin.

Step 1: Install the plugin

In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins, Add New, search for "Legalithm EU AI Act", then install and activate it. Everything runs on your own WordPress site: there is no account to create, and no data leaves your server. That local-only design is deliberate, a compliance tool that quietly phones home is a poor fit for compliance.

Step 2: Run a detection scan (recommended)

Open AI Act, AI Detection and run a scan. The plugin checks your active plugins and enqueued scripts against a curated list of known AI chatbots and content tools, and reports which it found and why (the exact plugin slug or script that matched). This does two useful things:

• It confirms you actually have an AI system that needs disclosing.
• It suggests the matching disclosure so you can switch it on with confidence.

Nothing visitor-facing is enabled automatically. Detection only suggests; you review and confirm. Note one honest limit: the scan finds known chatbots and tools, but it cannot see AI-generated content (an AI-written post looks identical to a human one), so handle content labelling separately (see below).

Step 3: Choose a disclosure style

Open AI Act, AI Disclosure and pick a presentation style. Each suits a different site:

If your notice is about a chat widget in the corner, a badge near it reads naturally. If you want one clear site-wide statement, use a banner.

Step 4: Set the language (and custom text)

Set the notice language. Default, ready-to-use copy is provided in English, German, Italian, French, Dutch, and Spanish, matching the wording used elsewhere so your disclosure is consistent. If your brand voice needs it, enter custom text, just keep it clear and honest ("you are interacting with AI"). Make sure a notice exists in every language your site serves: a German-speaking visitor should see a German notice.

Step 5: Choose where it appears

Decide placement:

• Sitewide (footer): the notice shows across the site. Simplest for a bot that appears on every page.
• Shortcode only: place [legalithm_ai_act_disclosure] exactly where you want it, for example on a specific page next to one chatbot.

Step 6: Enable and save

Switch the notice on and save. That commits the setting; nothing was visitor-facing until this moment.

Step 7: Verify it works

This step matters. Open your site as a visitor (log out or use a private window) and confirm:

• The disclosure appears at the first point of contact, before or as the conversation begins.
• It is in the correct language.
• It is real, readable text (select it, it should highlight), so assistive technology can read it.
• It looks right on mobile as well as desktop.

If it renders and reads clearly to a first-time visitor, you have met the Article 50(1) transparency test for your chatbot.

What the notice should say

There is no mandated wording. A defensible notice is short, honest, and up front:

You are chatting with an AI assistant. Responses are AI-generated.

Avoid two common mistakes: burying the notice in a policy page (fails the timing test) and using an image of text with no alt text (fails accessibility). Plain, visible text at first contact is all you need.

Do not forget AI-generated content (Article 50(4))

The chatbot notice is one duty. If you also publish AI-generated text or images, Article 50(4) asks you to label them as artificially generated. Because generated content is visually identical to human content, nothing detects it for you, you label it when you publish. Plan this separately from the chatbot notice. The wider checklist is in EU AI Act for WordPress: what to do before 2 August 2026.

Troubleshooting

The notice does not appear on the front end. Confirm it is enabled and saved, that placement is "sitewide (footer)" (or that your shortcode is on the page), and clear any page cache.

It shows in the wrong language. Check the language setting matches the page's language; if you run a multilingual site, ensure a notice is configured for each language.

It looks cramped on mobile. Try the badge style, which is designed to stay compact on small screens.

Beyond the notice

Adding the disclosure handles one transparency duty. It does not determine your risk tier or any high-risk obligations, that depends on what your AI actually does. To confirm your full obligations, run the free EU AI Act assessment. No account required.

• Add the disclosure (free, local, no account): EU AI Act WordPress plugin
• Confirm your obligations: Free EU AI Act assessment
• Understand the rule: Article 50 transparency obligations

Is the plugin free? Yes. The disclosure, the Article 4 literacy checklist, and AI detection are fully free and work on their own, with no locked features.

Does any data leave my site? No. Everything runs locally on your WordPress install. There is no account, no external API call, and no data leaves your server.

Can I use it with any chatbot? Yes. The disclosure is independent of your chatbot vendor, it renders your notice regardless of whether you use Intercom, Tidio, Drift, Crisp, or a custom bot. The detection scan recognises many common ones to suggest the right notice.

How long does this take? For a single-language site, a few minutes: install, scan, pick a style and language, enable, verify.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.