The European Union's comprehensive regulation, the 'EU AI Act,' has officially come into effect, prompting South Korea's home appliance industry to begin compliance checks for their European product lines. In response to regulations concerning General Purpose AI (GPAI), Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are enhancing their marketing strategies for 'on-device AI' products intended for export to Europe.
As of August 2, the 'transparency obligation' clause of the EU AI Act is now in full effect. This requires AI chatbot services and generated or synthetic content in the EU market to include clear AI disclosure statements and digital watermarks. A governance system, including the designation of regulatory authorities in member states, is also operational, with potential fines for violations reaching up to 7% of a company's global annual revenue.
Samsung and LG's AI smart appliances for the European market, including washing machines, refrigerators, and dishwashers, fall under the 'minimal risk' category in a four-tier risk classification system (unacceptable, high, limited, minimal). The on-device AI algorithms used for functions such as learning user patterns, optimizing energy use, and predicting malfunctions are not considered essential safety components, thus exempting them from direct legal submission requirements and significant compliance costs.
The key focus is on 'AI agents' and 'chatbot' services, which have become essential specifications for AI appliances. Services like Samsung's 'Bixby' and LG's 'ThinQ On,' which allow real-time interaction through voice and text, as well as AI-based image and video enhancement features, fall into the 'limited risk' category. In these cases, Article 50 of the AI Act mandates that users must be intuitively informed at the outset that they are interacting with AI through clear disclosure statements or identification markers.
The domestic home appliance industry is rapidly refining the interfaces and messaging for smart TVs, AI hubs, and mobile apps intended for the European market. Samsung has updated the entry screen for 'Bixby' to prominently display a message stating, "You are interacting with an AI agent." When AI is used to optimize image and sound quality or enhance images, a dedicated identification icon (watermark) will be consistently displayed on the screen.
LG Electronics has also promptly revised the interfaces for 'ThinQ On' and the 'LG ThinQ' app. A visual and audio pop-up stating, "AI is generating a response" will be applied at the initial stage of voice and text conversations, and a label indicating 'AI-generated content' will be mandatory at the top of automatically generated reports or messages to enhance transparency.
The companies are also strengthening their contingency plans for integrating general AI models from partners like Google and Microsoft. Even when utilizing partner AI, companies bear the responsibility of ensuring compliance with technical documentation and copyright policies as 'distributors.' As AI home hubs expand into healthcare data integration or emotion and facial recognition services, they may fall into the high-risk regulatory category, prompting plans to proactively eliminate legal risks from the product roadmap stage.
While the new regulations are unlikely to have an immediate adverse impact on exports, the industry is enhancing its preparedness, given that Europe sets global standards. Samsung was the first domestic company to sign the EU's 'Smart Appliance Energy Code of Conduct (CoC),' and LG is collaborating with the European Appliance Association (APPLiA) to address environmental and technological regulations, including eco-design and energy labeling.
An industry insider stated, "The EU AI Act emphasizes the 'notification obligation' on user interfaces that consumers directly interact with. Establishing an AI disclosure system for early market positioning is crucial, and as related risks are expected to grow, we will enhance our standards for AI ethics and transparency verification."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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