The European Commission has designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act. This makes it the first artificial intelligence chatbot to face the EU’s highest tier of digital safety regulation.
The official ruling subjects OpenAI’s platform, alongside community network Reddit and online gaming platform Roblox, to strict oversight requirements previously applied to other very large online platforms and search engines.
European authorities classified ChatGPT under search engine rules because the platform operates as a hybrid service, actively crawling and retrieving live web results to answer user queries and prompts. OpenAI disclosures indicate the tool’s search feature recorded an average of approximately 159 million monthly active users across the EU for the six months ending March 2026. This comfortably clears the statutory threshold of 45 million users required for the designation. Reddit reported 57.2 million monthly active users in the EU, while Roblox estimated its European user base between 46.6 million and 48 million.
“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, in line with their large impact on our citizens and society”
– Henna Virkkunen
OpenAI, Reddit, and Roblox have exactly four months from notification to adapt their operations to mandatory risk-mitigation standards under the Digital Services Act framework. Under these rules, companies must actively monitor, assess, and mitigate systemic risks.
These include the distribution of illegal content, negative effects on physical and mental well-being, protections for minors, and threats to fundamental rights, electoral processes, and public security. Regulators can penalize non-compliant providers with fines reaching up to 6% of their global annual turnover.
“Safety is foundational to everything we do and we look forward to continuing our constructive engagement with the European Commission”
– Joost Hagesteijn
The designation comes as the EU’s AI Act, approved in May 2024, begins taking effect. OpenAI already faces risk-management duties under that law, and experts note the Digital Services Act widens the scope of oversight further. Under current rules, AI models that comply with the framework’s systemic risk obligations are presumed to satisfy corresponding requirements under the AI Act. This carries global implications for students and freelancers who rely on the chatbot daily.
The Commission will supervise compliance for ChatGPT and Reddit in coordination with Ireland’s media authority, Coimisiún na Meán, which will handle day-to-day oversight in the EU market where both companies maintain European headquarters. The Netherlands’ Authority for Consumers and Markets will take the same role for Roblox. All three providers must submit their first systemic risk assessment reports to the Commission and their respective national authorities before the four-month transition window closes.
