What Article 22 Requires
Article 22 of the EU AI Act restricts solely automated decisions that significantly affect individuals, extending rights established under GDPR Article 22 into the AI-specific regulatory framework. The new guidance, published by the European AI Office on 24 July 2026, clarifies how this applies to AI agents transacting on behalf of natural persons or legal entities in commercial settings.
Key clarifications: an AI agent placing a bid, making an offer, or accepting a contract on behalf of a user qualifies as automated decision-making under Article 22 when the transaction value exceeds EUR 250 or involves recurring obligations. Marketplace operators must display a standardised disclosure badge on any listing created by an automated system, and on any offer or purchase initiation generated by an agent on behalf of a buyer.
Human Review Pathway
The guidance mandates a 'meaningful human review pathway' for transactions above EUR 1,000. This does not require human approval for every transaction -- it requires that the platform make a review and cancellation mechanism available within the transaction flow, with a minimum 30-minute window after order placement before fulfilment is irreversibly committed.
For agent buyers, this means the agent's authorising human must be contactable and capable of exercising the review right. Platforms must log whether the review pathway was exercised or allowed to lapse.
Compliance Timeline
The guidance takes effect 1 January 2027 for platforms with more than 10,000 monthly active agent-initiated transactions. Smaller platforms have until 1 July 2027. Non-compliance carries fines of up to 3% of global annual turnover.