The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is the world’s first comprehensive law on artificial intelligence. It does not regulate the technology itself but the way it is used: the greater the risk an AI system poses to people’s health, safety and fundamental rights, the stricter the requirements. The strictest rules apply to high-risk systems that help decide who gets a job, a loan or a place in education. These rules were due to take effect on 2 August 2026, but six days earlier an amendment entered into force that pushed the deadline back to December 2027. This article briefly reviews what was delayed, why, and what it means for Georgian companies.
What was delayed and what still applies
The rules for stand-alone high-risk systems will apply from 2 December 2027, and those for systems built into medical devices, toys and other products from 2 August 2028. The delay is partial: the bans have applied since February 2025, the rules for general-purpose models such as those behind ChatGPT have applied since August 2025, and the transparency obligations took effect on 2 August 2026: people must know when they are talking to a chatbot, and deepfakes must be labelled as artificially generated content.
Why it was delayed and what critics say
The main officially stated reason is the delay in preparing technical standards: by September 2026, only one of the standards needed for high-risk systems had been published. The decision was also helped along by the goal of strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and by business lobbying. Critics, including the European consumer organisation BEUC, argue that the changes were prepared without a full impact assessment and may lead businesses to expect that the rules will be postponed again.
What it means for Georgia
The AI Act also applies outside the EU: it covers companies in third countries if the output of their AI system is used in the EU. A Georgian company that builds, for example, a credit scoring model for a German bank may therefore fall within the Act’s scope, and European clients pass part of their obligations on to suppliers through contracts. Georgia’s IT services exports reached $1.15 billion in 2025. The United States is the largest market, but the EU is also important. At the same time, according to UNESCO, Georgia has no national AI strategy and no dedicated AI law, and its EU accession process has effectively come to a standstill. For Georgia, compliance with the AI Act is therefore not a state obligation at present but a market requirement to which companies have to adapt on their own.
This article is based on a report prepared by the academic team of Business and Technology University (BTU) and BTUAI, drawing on publicly available official documents, industry reviews and studies. The full report, with charts and sources, is attached.
Citation: Business and Technology University (BTU) and BTUAI. (2026). The EU AI Act Delay and What It Means for Georgia. Tbilisi, Georgia.