The first General-Purpose AI Code of Practice received by the Commission details the AI Act rules for providers of general-purpose AI models and general-purpose AI models with systemic risks.
The European AI Office facilitated the drawing-up of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice. The process was chaired by independent experts, involved nearly 1000 stakeholders, as well as EU Member States representatives, European and international observers.
Why a Code of Practice for General-Purpose AI?
General-purpose AI (GPAI) models can perform a wide range of tasks and are becoming the basis for many AI systems in the EU. Some of these models could carry systemic risks if they are very capable or widely used. To ensure safe and transparent AI, the AI Act puts in place rules for providers of such models. This includes transparency and copyright-related rules. For models that may carry systemic risks, providers should assess and mitigate these risks.
The AI Act rules on GPAI apply from 2 August 2025. The Code of Practice details out these rules, representing a voluntary tool prepared by independent experts, designed to help industry comply with the AI Act’s rules on general-purpose AI.
How was the Code of Practice drawn-up?
The Code has been prepared in an iterative drafting process. On 30 September, the AI Office hosted the Kick-off Event for the Code of Practice Plenary involving nearly 1000 participants, including a high number of professional organisations. These were the eligible respondents to the call to participate in the drawing-up launched by the AI Office on 30 July 2024.
The plenary was structured in four working groups on specific topics. Following the kick-off Plenary, the participants were convene three times virtually for drafting rounds with discussions organised in working groups. For each of the working groups, discussions were facilitated by chairs and vice-chairs, who were selected and appointed by the AI Office from interested independent experts. Participants were able express comments during each of those meetings or within two weeks in writing.
The Code was drafted in an inclusive and transparent process, with a variety of interested stakeholders involved: general-purpose AI model providers, downstream providers, industry organisations, civil society, rightsholders and other entities, as well as academia and independent experts.
As the main addressees of the Code, providers of general-purpose AI models were invited to dedicated workshops with the Chairs and Vice-Chairs, contributing to informing each iterative drafting round, in addition to their Plenary participation. The AI Office has ensured transparency into these discussions.
Close involvement of EU Member States representatives was ensured throughout the process, via the AI Board. The AI Office also invited other public bodies and agencies from all over the world working on risk assessment and mitigation for general-purpose AI models to the Plenary as observers.
The AI Office played a pivotal role throughout the process. By facilitating the drawing-up, coordinating the discussions and documenting the outcomes, the AI Office guaranteed that the Chairs, Vice-Chairs, and all the participants in the Plenary had access to the information and can contribute meaningfully. This oversight helps maintain an open and collaborative environment, fostering trust and accountability in the development of the Code of Practice.
Template for the summary of training data
In parallel to the Code of practice process, the AI Office is also developing a template on the sufficiently detailed summary of training data that general-purpose AI model providers are required to make public according to Article 53(1)d) of the AI Act. The AI Office collected input from stakeholders during a broader multi-stakeholder consultation on general-purpose AI, where more than 430 responses were provided from a wide range of stakeholders.
The template for the summary of training data is closely linked to the providers' obligations in relation to transparency and copyright that have been detailed out in the Code of Practice. Given the close interlinkages of the two processes and the participation of all interested stakeholder groups with more than 1000 participants in the Code of Practice drafting, the AI Office has presented its preliminary ideas and allowed the participants to the Code to provide additional feedback on the preliminary structure and elements of the template. The topic was also discussed with the Member States' representatives in the AI Board subgroup and the European Parliament before the Commission adopted the template in July 2025.
Timeline
This is the overall drafting process has taken place until the publication of the Code.
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10 December 2024AI Board debriefed on progress with the Code of Practice (CoP)
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11 December 2024European Parliament invites AI Office, Chairs and Vice-Chairs
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19 December 2024AI Office publishes the second draft of the Code (first draft)EU Survey launched simultaneously for participant feedback
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Week of 20 January 2025Provider workshopsAI Board: GPAI subgroup meeting with Chairs
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27 January 2025Summary Plenary
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11 March 2025
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Week of 17 March 2025Working group meetings
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Week of 24 March 2025Fourth provider workshops
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24 March 2025AI Board: GPAI subgroup meeting with ChairsAI Board: full meeting
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28 March 2025Summary plenary
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30 june
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July 2 2025GPAI provider Workshop
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July 3 2025Closing plenary
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10 July 2025The Commission received the final version of the Code following its presentation by the Chairs and Vice-Chairs in the closing plenary
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1 August 2025The Commission and AI Board approve the code via Adequacy Decisions
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