EU AI Act enforcement begins, GPT-5.6 gets cheaper, Google expands agents
The EU AI Act started being enforced on 2 August, with new transparency rules now in force. Meanwhile, OpenAI cut GPT-5.6 prices and Google added new capabilities to its managed agents platform.
Every line links to a primary source in the full briefing.
01EU AI Act enforcement is now live: businesses must disclose AI to users
From 2 August 2026, the European Commission's AI Office and national authorities began enforcing the AI Act. The most immediate change for businesses is a new transparency obligation: certain AI systems must now inform users when they are interacting with AI, not a human.
If your business uses chatbots, automated voice systems, or AI-generated content directed at customers in Europe, you may now be legally required to label it as AI. Non-compliance is enforceable from this date.
Source: European Commission
02European Commission publishes official guidance on AI transparency obligations
Alongside the start of enforcement, the European Commission released formal guidelines explaining exactly what the AI Act's transparency obligations require from both providers (those who build AI systems) and deployers (those who use them in their products or services). The guidelines were published ahead of the 2 August deadline to give businesses time to prepare.
These guidelines are the practical reference document for understanding what you are legally required to disclose about AI in your products or customer-facing services in Europe.
Source: European Commission
03OpenAI cuts GPT-5.6 prices with two new tiers
OpenAI has reduced the price of GPT-5.6 through two pricing tiers named Luna and Terra. The move is aimed at enterprises running AI workflows at scale, with the stated goal of improving the price-to-performance ratio for API users.
If you are building or running any product on OpenAI's API, lower inference costs mean the same budget goes further, or that use cases which were previously too expensive to automate may now be viable.
Source: OpenAI
04Google adds Gemini 3.6 Flash, hooks, and background tasks to its Managed Agents platform
Google has updated its Gemini API Managed Agents service with the faster Gemini 3.6 Flash model, plus hooks and triggers that let developers control agent behaviour at specific points in a workflow. A previous update also added background task execution and remote MCP (Model Context Protocol) support, allowing agents to connect to external tools and services.
For teams building automated workflows or agents on top of Google's platform, these additions make it easier to create agents that run unattended, react to events, and connect to existing business tools.
05OpenAI outlines how its practices align with EU AI Act requirements
OpenAI published a document describing how its existing safety, security, transparency, and content provenance practices relate to the requirements of the EU AI Act. The document is framed as an ongoing commitment as the Act's rules continue to take effect.
For businesses using OpenAI tools in Europe, this signals the company is actively working to remain compliant with EU rules, which reduces the risk of disruption to those services as enforcement tightens.
Source: OpenAI
Sources
6 links- 01Advancing responsible AI across EuropeOpenAI
- 02Commission starts enforcing AI Act rules and new transparency requirements on 2 AugustEuropean Commission
- 03Commission publishes guidelines on transparency obligations for providers and deployers of certain AI systemsEuropean Commission
- 04Advancing the price-performance frontier with GPT-5.6OpenAI
- 05Gemini API Managed Agents: 3.6 Flash, hooks, and moreGoogle AI
- 06Expanding Managed Agents in Gemini API: background tasks, remote MCP and moreGoogle AI