AI icon

How to read it

The European Commission published its EU icons for labelling AI-generated content with the Code of Practice on marking and labelling AI-generated content on 10 June 2026. The basic icon is the letters AI in a filled circle; two more pair the letters with the words generated and modified. The icons come in black, white and both at 50% transparency, and anyone may use them without crediting the Commission. They are meant to help people meet Article 50(4) of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which applies from 2 August 2026. The Commission’s user tests found the basic icon worked better with a text label beside it, such as modified.

Also searched as: AI generated icon, AI symbol, artificial intelligence icon, EU AI icon.

The EU icons

Using the icons is optional, but the labelling duty in Article 50 is not, and the Commission says the icon alone does not make a label compliant. It also says the icon should stay visible when the content is reshared or downloaded, and that seeing it on content from someone who hasn’t signed the code doesn’t mean they follow the code.

What EU law requires

The AI Act defines a deep fake as AI-generated or manipulated image, audio or video that resembles existing people, objects, places or events and would falsely appear authentic. Whoever uses an AI system to make one must disclose that it was artificially generated or manipulated; for evidently artistic, satirical or fictional work, the disclosure only has to not get in the way of the work. The same applies to AI-generated text published to inform the public on matters of public interest, unless a person or publisher has reviewed it and taken editorial responsibility. The disclosure must be clear and come at the latest when someone first sees the content. Separately, makers of generative AI systems must mark their output in a machine-readable format so that it is detectable as artificially generated. The Commission gives AI systems already on the market before 2 August 2026 until 2 December 2026 to comply. This page describes the rules; it isn’t legal advice.

China’s labelling rules

China’s Measures for Labeling AI-Generated Synthetic Content, from the Cyberspace Administration of China and three other agencies, took effect on 1 September 2025. They require two kinds of label. An explicit label is one people can see or hear: text, sound or images on the content or the app screen, such as a text notice or a common symbol in text and a conspicuous notice on an image. An implicit label is written into the file’s metadata. Platforms add a visible notice when a file’s metadata says it is AI-generated, when the person posting says so, or when the platform suspects it, and people who post AI-generated content must declare it.

Look-alikes

The AI sparkle icon ✨ marks an app feature that uses AI, not content made by it. The Content Credentials (CR) icon pin (CR) means a file carries signed information about how it was made, which may or may not involve AI. Meta’s "AI info" label is a text label, not an icon.