Today is an important date for anyone using artificial intelligence in Europe. From 2 August 2026, the transparency obligations of the European Union AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) begin to apply.
Most of the conversation around the AI Act has been about the large AI companies — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta. But today’s changes also reach the businesses, creators and professionals who use AI in their daily work.
If you use Node Composer to create AI-assisted images, videos or creative content, this post explains what changes, what remains your responsibility, and how the app is built to support a transparent and responsible use of AI.
What the EU AI Act is
The EU AI Act is the world’s first comprehensive regulation dedicated to artificial intelligence. Its objective is not to prohibit AI, but to make its use:
- more transparent;
- more trustworthy;
- more respectful of fundamental rights;
- easier to understand, so that people know when they are interacting with AI or looking at AI-generated content.
From 2 August 2026, one of its most visible parts becomes applicable: the transparency obligations described in Article 50.
What changes from today
For many businesses, the change comes down to one principle:
People should be informed when AI plays a relevant role in generating or manipulating content, where the AI Act requires such transparency.
The exact obligations depend on:
- the type of AI system;
- the type of content;
- how the content is used;
- who is responsible for publishing it.
Not every image created with AI automatically requires the same disclosure. What applies depends on the context and on the specific provisions of the AI Act and its guidance.
What this means for Node Composer
Node Composer was designed around a different philosophy from most cloud-based AI platforms. It is local-first, privacy-first and user-controlled.
Node Composer does not:
- provide proprietary AI models;
- train AI models;
- perform proprietary AI inference;
- store your creative projects in the cloud;
- sell AI generation credits.
Instead, it lets you connect your own AI provider accounts — such as WaveSpeed or Runware — using your own API keys, while most of your creative work stays on your own computer.
That architecture lines up with the principles of transparency and user control that the AI Act is built on.
An example: an online store
Let’s take a practical scenario.
You run an online store selling handcrafted furniture.
You photograph a real wooden chair in your studio.
Using Node Composer, you generate a realistic living room around that product photo to build a more attractive marketing image.
The chair is real.
The room around it was generated with AI.
Should you tell your customers?
Potentially, yes. Whether and how a disclosure is appropriate depends on the legal context, on what the image is used for and on the applicable transparency requirements. The point of the AI Act is to reduce the risk that people are misled about the origin or the authenticity of what they are looking at.
A simple disclosure might read:
Background environment created with AI. Product photography represents the actual product.
A statement like this helps customers understand which parts of the image show the real product and which parts were created digitally.
One caveat: this is an illustrative example, not legal advice. The right disclosure depends on your specific circumstances and on the law that applies to you.
Where our responsibility ends
Node Composer provides creative software. It does not decide:
- how your images are published;
- where your content appears;
- which legal obligations apply to your business;
- whether a specific disclosure is required.
Those decisions stay with you, or with the organization publishing the content. That is exactly why we publish documentation explaining how the software works, which AI providers are involved, how data flows through the application and what our approach to AI transparency is.
Our commitment
We believe responsible AI starts with transparency. The website now carries a dedicated set of documents:
- AI Transparency & EU AI Act Notice — how AI is used inside the app, and the roles of the software, the providers and you;
- Acceptable Use Policy — what you may and may not do with Node Composer;
- Third-Party Services & Subprocessors — every external service involved and what each one handles;
- Privacy Policy — what stays on your device and what never reaches our servers.
The goal is not only to comply with the applicable rules, but to help creators and businesses understand how AI is actually being used inside their own workflows.
Read the official sources
The AI Act will keep evolving through official guidance, FAQs and implementation documents published by the European Commission and the AI Office. If you use AI professionally, go to the source:
- EU AI Act implementation timeline
- AI Act Service Desk — Resources
- AI Act Service Desk — Frequently asked questions
These are kept up to date and carry the most authoritative guidance on how the AI Act applies.
Final thoughts
Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday creative work. The EU AI Act does not set out to discourage innovation — it sets out to make AI more transparent and more trustworthy. We think those goals sit perfectly well with creativity.
By building a local-first, privacy-first application that leaves you in control of your AI providers, your API keys and your creative assets, we want software that is not only powerful, but aligned with what responsible AI use in Europe is supposed to look like.