The European Commission has designated: • ChatGPT → VLOSE (Very Large Online Search Engine) • Reddit → VLOP (Very Large Online Platform) • Roblox → VLOP The designations apply because the services reported more than 45 million average monthly users in the EU, triggering the DSA’s strongest platform obligations. That means additional scrutiny of systemic risks, algorithmic systems, illegal content, fundamental rights, minors’ safety, elections, public security, transparency and independent audits. For ChatGPT, the VLOSE designation is particularly significant because it brings a generative AI service into the EU’s very-large-search-engine regulatory framework.
Is there simply no better category or why is ChatGPT designated a search engine?
The designation of ChatGPT as a VLOSE represents a groundbreaking regulatory precedent for artificial intelligence. While traditionally viewed as a conversational agent, the Commission recognizes ChatGPT as a hybrid service. Because the system actively engages with and responds to users’ prompts and queries, including by searching the live web to retrieve and synthesize information, it functionally operates as an online search engine under the DSA. This classification ensures that generative AI models with retrieval capabilities cannot evade accountability by framing themselves merely as “chatbots” rather than powerful information gatekeepers.
None as of current date. In this sense, even gemini should’ve been considered as a swarch engine as google seaech AI overview uses gemini under the hood
