EU AI Omnibus deal: changes to the AI Act and what comes next

EU lawmakers reached a deal on the AI Omnibus at 4:30 AM on May 7, amending the EU AI Act. The core change is delaying compliance deadlines for high-risk AI systems: systems involving fundamental rights must comply by December 2, 2027, while systems embedded in regulated products are postponed to August 2, 2028; transparency and watermarking requirements must still be met by August this year, and systems already on the market have a grace period until December 2 this year. The deal also expands the permission for all AI systems (including providers and deployers) to process sensitive personal data for bias detection and correction, weakens AI literacy obligations, and adds new bans on nudifier tools and CSAM, applicable from December this year. In the industrial AI dispute, only the machinery sector among the 12 regulated product industries was exempted, but it remains linked to the AI Act through harmonized standards. The article argues that the AI Omnibus is just a prelude, and the more impactful Data Omnibus will involve GDPR simplification.