A new public-sector project will develop multilingual chatbots to guide users through complex digital legislation, signalling a shift in how rules are explained.
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The European Commission's digital policy department is turning to artificial intelligence to make new technology laws easier to navigate. A fresh contract will fund the design, development and deployment of two multilingual chatbots that guide stakeholders through legal obligations and procedures under the Artificial Intelligence Act and the Digital Services Act.
On 2nd February 2026, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology published a contract notice for the Multilingual AI Chatbots Development project. The contract covers the design, development and deployment of two AI-powered multilingual chatbots to help stakeholders understand the Artificial Intelligence Act and the Digital Services Act, by offering tailored guidance on the legal obligations and procedures they contain.
The emphasis on tailored guidance marks a shift away from static guidance notes and dense legal commentary. Instead of forcing users to search long documents for relevant clauses, the chatbots are expected to respond to concrete questions in everyday language and point users towards the provisions and procedural steps that apply to their situation.
The multilingual requirement points to an ambition to reach stakeholders in many countries and language communities, rather than only those who can work in a single working language. For organisations and individuals who must comply with or apply the two acts, being able to ask questions in their own language could reduce barriers to understanding and make the legislation feel less remote.
The Commission's chatbot project sits within a wider pattern of public authorities turning to AI assistants to explain rules and handle routine queries. Across 2025 and early 2026, contracting notices from local, national and European bodies show chatbots moving from experiments to mainstream tools for legal information, customer service and citizen support.
Together, these projects show that AI assistants are no longer confined to experimental pilots. They are being written directly into the infrastructure of how citizens, businesses and public officials obtain information, ask questions and receive guidance from the state.
Behind the visible chat interfaces, many administrations are procuring shared AI platforms and infrastructure. In January 2026, the Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Landwirtschaft sought an AI Platform as SaaS for Users, a multi-tenant, text-based AI platform delivered as Software-as-a-Service to support AI-assisted workflows for authorised employees. In October 2025, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, vertreten durch das Bundesministerium für Digitales und Staatsmodernisierung, launched an AI Platform Procurement to secure Platform-as-a-Service capacity on a secure cloud that supports AI applications and integrates with existing systems.
Governance and security are recurring themes. In November 2025, the Staatskanzlei advertised an AI Platform for Municipalities, designed to enhance administrative efficiency for Zurich municipalities while centralising legal and IT security clarifications around AI use. In September 2025, Landkreis Schaumburg issued a notice for a Secure Generative AI Platform for the public sector, focused on data protection, security, scalability and governance, and on providing a central system for managing and integrating AI services. And in January 2026, the Národní agentura pro komunikační a informační technologie set out plans for AI Platform Delivery and Integration, covering the hardware, storage and network infrastructure needed to run and manage AI systems in both cloud and on-premise environments.
Public bodies are also investing in people and guidance to sit alongside the technology. In November 2025, Social Care Wales sought a partner to create Digital Resources for AI in Social Care, concise bilingual materials that promote safe and responsible AI use for professionals in Wales. In January 2026, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center announced a tender for AI Training Services, combining strategic training for senior leaders with introductory courses for non-technical staff. Against this backdrop, the Commission's chatbot initiative can be seen as another way of packaging expertise and guidance, using conversational interfaces to translate dense legal texts into practical advice.
The new multilingual chatbots for the Artificial Intelligence Act and the Digital Services Act will test how far regulators can rely on AI to explain complex, evolving rules. Much will depend on how accurately the systems reflect the underlying legislation, how clearly they signal the limits of what they can do, and how they complement, rather than replace, existing channels for official guidance. If the project succeeds, it may encourage other rulemakers to commission similar tools, bringing conversational AI to more areas of public policy and compliance.
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