AI Act to Reshape Freelance Briefs as Companies Start Asking About AI Use

Starting August 2, 2026, companies commissioning work from freelancers will have to clearly define in their briefs the rules for using artificial intelligence. This is a result of the EU AI Act provisions on transparency for content created or modified by AI coming into force, as reported by Magazyn MANAGER+.

What Changes in Briefs

Until now, a freelance assignment usually came down to settling the format, style, deadline and budget. After August 2, that list will gain a question about artificial intelligence, on several levels at once. Companies will have to specify whether AI may be used, at which stages of the work, whether it can produce the final material, who checks facts and brand compliance, who approves publication, and whether the finished content needs to be labeled as AI-generated.

This marks the end of situations where a client learns about the use of AI tools only after the fact, often by accident. Article 50 of the AI Act (EU Regulation 2024/1689) imposes a transparency obligation for synthetic content, and its practical consequences reach all the way down to a single assignment for a freelancer working on text, graphics, a website or video material.

Hidden AI Use as Everyday Practice

The scale of the problem the regulation aims to address is shown by data from the Freelancehunt platform. In the "Freelancer Portrait 2025" report, as many as 43.1 percent of freelancers admit they do not inform clients about using artificial intelligence in their work. Another 21.1 percent make disclosure conditional on confidentiality clauses in the contract, and only 15.6 percent declare full openness toward clients.

AI is used most often by freelancers working in graphic design (24.6 percent), programming (24.3 percent) and copywriting (12.9 percent) - industries where the result of the work goes directly to end clients: brands, media outlets, online stores and B2B companies.

The AI Act does not mean the end of commissioning content created with the help of artificial intelligence. It does mean the end of leaving things unsaid in the brief - Valentyn Ziuzin, CEO of Freelancehunt

The biggest risk isn't that a freelancer uses AI. The risk arises when the client only finds out at the end of the project - Oleg Topchiy, founder of Freelancehunt

A New Standard of Professionalism

The regulation could also change how contractors are chosen. Alongside price, portfolio, deadline and reviews, a question about transparency in working with AI will now appear. In projects for brands, media outlets, online stores and B2B companies, freelancers who can explain their working method, separate automatically generated elements from human-verified material, and help the client safely publish the finished piece will gain greater credibility.

Simply stating "I use AI" or "I don't use AI" is no longer enough. What matters is the ability to show where artificial intelligence served as a supporting tool, which elements were automatically prepared or modified, what sources were checked, and what still requires verification before publication.

What Freelancers Themselves See

Data from the same report shows freelancers are not blind to the risks tied to AI. Among the regulatory priorities named by respondents, 40.4 percent want mandatory labeling of AI-generated content, 37.6 percent prioritize personal data protection, 33 percent copyright protection, and 22.9 percent an explicit obligation to inform clients about AI use.

A positive sign is that 81.3 percent of freelancers say they do not feed clients' sensitive data into AI models. The biggest concerns, however, are model hallucinations, cited by 47.3 percent of respondents, and the risk of data leaks, noted by 18.8 percent.

Implications for the Polish Market

For Polish companies commissioning work from freelancers, this means having to update brief and contract templates before August 2026. This applies especially to sectors that rely heavily on freelancers: marketing, e-commerce, media and video content production, where ultimate responsibility for AI Act compliance rests with the commissioning company rather than the contractor.

The new rules coincide with other AI Act obligations taking effect on August 2, 2026, including the general requirement to label AI-generated content across the entire European Union. For freelancers and their clients, this means that transparency about AI is no longer a matter of goodwill, but becomes part of the contract.

Sources: AI Act a freelancerzy. Nowe zasady od 2 sierpnia 2026 (managerplus.pl), AI Act zmieni briefy dla freelancerów. Firmy będą pytać o użycie AI a nie tylko o efekt (prawo.egospodarka.pl), 43,1 proc. freelancerów nie ujawnia klientom użycia AI. Spór o regulacje dzieli branżę (itwiz.pl)