The European Commission is likely to classify ChatGPT as a ‘Very Large Online Search Engine’ under the Digital Services Act (DSA), subjecting the developer, OpenAI, to more stringent compliance requirements.
According to the German daily Handelsblatt, which cites unnamed sources within the EC, the classification of ChatGPT will take place in the next few days.
The DSA mandates applying the designation of Very Large Online Search Engine (VLOSE) or Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) to digital services that reach over 45 million active monthly users in the EU, with providers obliged to update user figures every six months.
OpenAI’s own data indicates that ChatGPT search reached 120.4 million monthly EU-based users in the six months to the end of September 2025.
LLMs to be regulated under DSA on ‘case-by-case basis’
Officially, the EC is still weighing up the prospect of slapping ChatGPT with the VLOSE classification.
Spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Reuters that classifying large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT under the DSA would have to be decided on a “case-by-case” basis, indicating that the EC would not automatically designate any LLM that passed 45 million monthly active users.
“OpenAI has published user numbers for ChatGPT above the 45 million DSA threshold for designation,” Regnier said. “The Commission services are currently assessing this information.”
As of April 1, the EU classifies 21 service providers as either VLOPs or VLOSEs, including such usual suspects as Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Twitter (also known as X).
Other classified providers included Booking.com, AliExpress, Infinite Styles Services (Shein), LinkedIn, Zalando, and Pinterest.
OpenAI may face higher operating costs
Providers have four months to comply once designated as either a VLOP or VLOSE, during which period they must introduce points of contact between regulators and users, report criminal offences and regulatory violations, implement “user-friendly” terms and conditions, and provide transparency as to advertising and content moderation.
Newly designated providers must also provide the Commission with an assessment of any risks arising from their services, particularly those pertaining to illegal content, fundamental civil and consumer rights, public and electoral security, and physical and mental health.
Highlighting how the DSA becomes more demanding for VLOPs and VLOSEs, providers not only have to establish internal compliance functions but also have to undergo an annual independent audit and adopt measures recommended by the corresponding auditor.
They even have to share relevant monitoring data with the EC and national regulators, and permit “vetted” researchers to access information and data that would aid with research into any systemic, EU-wide risks posed by their platforms.
Assuming that the Commission does classify ChatGPT as a VLOSE, OpenAI could face a considerable increase in its operating costs in the EU, although it does already comply with the DSA under its current status.
It will have to help finance the EU’s supervision of its services, contributing a maximum of 0.05% of its annual worldwide net income.
While there is no reliable data on the average cost of ensuring internal compliance with a VLOP or VLOSE classification, the EC collected €54.8 million in supervisory fees last year.
The cost of noncompliance can also be very steep for very large providers, with the Commission fining X €120 million last December for contravening transparency requirements.
