The European Commission has placed ChatGPT under the strictest tier of its Digital Services Act, classifying the AI assistant as a Very Large Online Search Engine. Reddit and Roblox were simultaneously designated Very Large Online Platforms.
The move brings the total number of designated services to 28. The Commission argues ChatGPT is a hybrid service: it responds to user prompts and queries, including by searching the web, which makes it search-like enough to regulate as one.
It is the first time an AI assistant has been treated as a search engine under the DSA. The designation gives the Commission investigatory powers over how ChatGPT and its connected systems work, with oversight shared with Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán.
OpenAI has until the end of December to comply. That means annual systemic risk assessments, a public advertising repository, data access for vetted researchers, twice-yearly transparency reports, notice-and-action procedures and a crisis response mechanism. The services will also help fund their own supervision through an annual fee tied to worldwide net income, capped at 0.05%. Breaches can draw fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
For Reddit and Roblox, the scrutiny lands on user safety and platform design. For OpenAI, the classification carries bigger stakes: the rules apply to how answers are traced, what data researchers can see and how problem content is reported, all before the company’s expected IPO.
