European Commission reviews ChatGPT under DSA after 120.4M EU users

The European Commission said it is assessing whether to designate OpenAI's ChatGPT as a large online search engine under the Digital Services Act, following OpenAI's disclosure of user numbers above the relevant threshold. OpenAI told the regulator that ChatGPT's search offering had 120.4 million average monthly active recipients in the European Union over the six months ending September 2025.

The report said the threshold for falling under the scope of the Digital Services Act is 45 million users. European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said the regulator was assessing the information and that large language models could be subject to DSA rules on a case-by-case basis.

If the European Commission designates OpenAI as a large online search engine, OpenAI would have to carry out independent risk assessments and mitigation measures, increase transparency and algorithmic accountability, undergo external audits, provide data access for regulators, and implement stronger content moderation processes. The case would extend the EU's Digital Services Act oversight to ChatGPT's search offering as its user base grows in the European Union.