# EU designates ChatGPT a very large online search engine

Published: 2026-08-31T12:18:18.763Z · Source: EU Commission Digital (https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-designates-chatgpt-reddit-roblox-under-digital-services-act)
Source date: 2026-08-31
Entities: chatgpt, openai

The European Commission said Monday it designated ChatGPT a Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) under the EU's Digital Services Act, alongside Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms — designations triggered by each service reporting at least 45 million average monthly EU users, with OpenAI's ChatGPT at 159.1 million per the Commission's published figures. ChatGPT joins Google Search (364 million EU users) and Bing (119 million), both designated in April 2023, as the DSA's only VLOSEs, and is the first non-traditional search product so listed. Designated services have four months from notification, until January 2027, to meet added DSA obligations — assessing and mitigating systemic risks from illegal content, harm to minors, users' mental well-being, fundamental rights, elections and public security.

Why it matters: ChatGPT becomes the third search engine bound by DSA systemic-risk obligations and the first that isn't a traditional index — EU regulators are now treating a conversational AI answer surface as search in the ways that carry legal weight.

## What this answers

**Is ChatGPT regulated as a search engine in the EU?**

Yes — the European Commission designated ChatGPT a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act on August 31, 2026, based on OpenAI's reported 159.1 million average monthly EU users.

**What must OpenAI do now that ChatGPT is a designated VLOSE?**

Within four months of notification, by January 2027, assess and mitigate systemic risks from ChatGPT's algorithmic systems covering illegal content, minors' safety, mental well-being, fundamental rights, elections and public security.

**Which other search engines are EU-designated VLOSEs?**

Google Search (364 million average monthly EU users) and Bing (119 million), both designated in April 2023 — ChatGPT is now the third and the first non-traditional search product on the list.


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