PricingLog in

The EU AI Act and Switzerland.

Reviewed

Short answer

Switzerland has no overarching AI law yet: on 12 February 2025 the Federal Council decided to ratify the Council of Europe’s AI Convention and adapt Swiss law sector by sector, and the consultation on a federal act is scheduled for spring 2027. The EU AI Act still applies to Swiss providers that place AI systems on the EU market, and to Swiss providers and deployers whose AI output is used in the EU (Article 2(1)(a) and (c)).

Official sources: OFCOM: Artificial intelligence, regulation in Switzerland · AI Act, Article 2

When the AI Act reaches a Swiss company

Situations in which the EU AI Act applies to a company established in Switzerland
SituationAI ActBasis
You place an AI system or a general-purpose AI model on the EU market, sold or freeApplies to you as providerArticle 2(1)(a)
Your AI system runs in Switzerland but its output is used in the EUApplies to you as provider or deployerArticle 2(1)(c)
You import or distribute AI systems in the EUApplies to importers and distributorsArticle 2(1)(d)
You provide a high-risk AI system from SwitzerlandAppoint an authorised representative in the EU by written mandate before making it availableArticle 22
You provide a general-purpose AI model from SwitzerlandAppoint an authorised representative in the EU before placing it on the marketArticle 54
You use AI only in Switzerland and nothing of it is used in the EUNot covered by Article 2(1); Swiss law appliesArticle 2(1)

What Switzerland is doing

  • 12 February 2025: the Federal Council decided on a Swiss approach, to ratify the Council of Europe’s AI Convention and incorporate it into Swiss law; amendments as sector-specific as possible, with general rules only for key areas relevant to fundamental rights, such as data protection.
  • The FDJP (Federal Office of Justice) is drafting a federal act for consultation with DETEC (OFCOM) and the FDFA, with rules on transparency, data protection, non-discrimination, supervision and risk assessment; the consultation is scheduled for spring 2027.
  • Alongside the act, non-binding measures such as industry dialogues, guidelines, standards and voluntary commitments; on 26 October 2026 OFCOM published a report on sectoral measures and a toolkit for a voluntary AI code.
  • 28 October 2026: the Federal Council took note of interim progress on AI regulation.

Checklist for Swiss companies with EU customers

  • List the AI systems and models you offer to EU customers, and those whose output EU users see or rely on.
  • For each, decide your role under the AI Act: provider, deployer, importer or distributor.
  • If you provide a high-risk system or a general-purpose AI model, appoint an authorised representative in the EU.
  • If your system generates images, video, audio or text, mark the outputs in a machine-readable way (Article 50(2)); for systems already on the EU market before 2 August 2026, by 2 December 2026.
  • If you publish deepfakes for an EU audience, disclose them (Article 50(4)).
  • Follow the Swiss consultation in spring 2027 for rules that will apply in Switzerland itself.

Questions

Is Switzerland bound by the AI Act?
Not as a country: Switzerland is not an EU member state, and according to OFCOM it has no overarching AI legislation of its own yet. Swiss companies are covered when they place AI systems on the EU market or when their AI output is used in the EU.

Sources

Last reviewed by Volkan Çatak, Founder, Proofcan.

Not legal advice. This page explains official texts in plain words and links each one; check the sources, or a lawyer, before relying on it for a decision.