Algorithmic transparency
Also known as: AI disclosure · duty to inform
Algorithmic transparency is the duty to tell a person they are interacting with an AI system, or that content was generated by one.
It is the least expensive obligation and the most often forgotten. It requires neither audit nor technical documentation: it requires a sentence, in the right place, at the right time.
It covers several distinct situations: conversing with a chatbot, generating synthetic content, emotion recognition, and biometric categorisation.
For automated decisions it pairs with a duty to explain: stating the main factors that led to the outcome, which presupposes having recorded them.
What it means for a small business
One line above a chat widget — "you are talking to an automated assistant" — settles in a minute an obligation many larger sites still have not met.
So what actually applies to you?
A definition tells you what a term means, not what your organization must do. The assessment answers the second question — free, no credit card.
Updated September 1, 2026 · Educational definition; not legal advice.