On September 26, 2025, the European Commission initiated a public consultation on draft guidance and a draft reporting template for serious artificial intelligence (“AI”) incidents under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the “AI Act”).

The guidance and template are designed to help providers of high-risk AI systems prepare for new mandatory reporting requirements detailed in Article 73 of the AI Act. These obligations, which take effect from August 2026, require providers to notify national authorities of serious incidents involving their AI systems. According to the European Commission, the aim of Article 73 of the AI Act is to facilitate early detection of risks, enhance accountability, enable swift intervention, and foster public confidence in AI technologies.

Key aspects of the draft guidance include:

• Clarification of terms: The guidance defines key concepts related to serious AI incidents and reporting obligations.
• Practical examples: Scenarios are provided to illustrate when and how incidents should be reported. For example, an incident or malfunction may include misclassifications, significant drops in accuracy, AI system downtime or unexpected behaviors.
• Reporting obligations and timelines: The guidance sets out the different obligations that apply to different actors, including providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems, providers of GPAI models with systemic risk, market surveillance and national competent authorities, the European Commission and the AI Board.
• Relationship to other laws: The guidance explains how these AI-specific rules interact with broader legal frameworks and reporting obligations, such as the Critical Entities Resilience Directive, the NIS2 Directive and the Digital Operational Resilience Act.
• International alignment of reporting regimes: The guidance seeks consistency with global efforts such as the AI Incidents Monitor and Common Reporting Framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”).