What is AI watermarking?
AI watermarking is the practice of embedding signals into AI-generated content: imperceptible pixel or audio patterns, statistical token biases in text, or robust identifiers that survive compression and cropping, so that machines can later detect the content as synthetic. Under Article 50 of the EU AI Act, providers of generative systems must mark outputs in a machine-readable format from 2 August 2026; watermarking is one accepted technique, alongside provenance metadata such as Content Credentials (C2PA), fingerprinting and cryptographic methods.
Legal expectations, in practice
- The Act requires solutions to be effective, interoperable, robust and reliable as far as technically feasible: a standard, not a specific technology;
- Text watermarking remains technically fragile; layered approaches (watermark + metadata + detection API) are the defensible position;
- Deployers of deepfake tools still owe a separate visible disclosure: watermarking alone does not satisfy it.
Why it matters
For Turkey-connected products serving EU users, marking is a launch-blocking product requirement, not a policy footnote. Türkiye’s November 2025 criminal-law draft on AI-generated content points the same direction domestically.
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