Code of Practice
A code of practice — within the AI Act framework, best known in the form of the GPAI Code of Practice — is a legally non-binding soft-law document that serves as a voluntary means of demonstrating compliance pending the emergence of a harmonised standard. Signing it makes it easier for a provider to prove compliance, but non-signature is not, by itself, an infringement, provided the provider can present alternative, equivalent proof.
The legal basis is Article 53(4), Article 55(2) and Article 56. The GPAI Code of Practice was published on 10 July 2025, and is primarily relevant to providers of general-purpose AI models — not to companies that merely use the model — particularly for models with systemic risk, where it provides practical guidance for meeting the four additional obligations of Article 55. Signing the code is not the same as legal compliance: signature is a voluntary evidentiary tool that the authority accepts, but it does not replace the underlying legal obligation. If a provider does not sign, it must demonstrate, subject to individual regulatory assessment, that it achieves the same level of compliance by other means. This category rarely directly affects Hungarian SMEs in practice.
For a Hungarian SME this concept is mainly an orientation point: if a supplier AI model provider references having signed the Code of Practice, that is an accepted, but not exclusive, way of demonstrating compliance.
Need documented AI-literacy training?
Article 4 is a duty of diligence: what counts is not knowledge in the abstract, but demonstrable, documented effort. Our starter package lets you begin free.
Start freeRelated terms
- General-purpose AI (GPAI)A general-purpose AI model (GPAI) is a model that displays significant generality, is capable of competently performing a wide range of distinct tasks, and can be integrated into a variety of downstream systems. The model itself is a component: it becomes an AI system once combined with a user interface. GPAI models are governed by Articles 51–56; systems built on top of them by Article 50.
- GPAI model with systemic riskA GPAI model with systemic risk is a general-purpose AI model that may have a significant impact on public health, safety, public security or fundamental rights, due to its scale. This is presumed where the cumulative computation used for its training exceeds 10^25 floating point operations; in that case the provider is subject to the four additional obligations of Article 55.
- Harmonised standardA harmonised standard is a technical standard developed on the basis of a Union standardisation request, whose application creates a presumption of conformity: a provider that follows it is presumed to meet the corresponding requirement. As of mid-2026, harmonised standards covering the AI Act's high-risk requirements had not yet been finalised, so the presumption of conformity is not currently available.