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TL;DR
A French expert commission delivered 18 recommendations on consumer AI assistants to President Emmanuel Macron’s office on November 10, including checks before launch and at regular intervals afterward. The proposals are recommendations, not law, and many would require action at the European Union level.
A French expert commission has recommended that consumer AI chatbots and companions pass an evaluation before entering the European market, with further checks after launch. The commission submitted its report, containing 18 recommendations, nine marked as priorities, to the Élysée on November 10; the proposals are not law and would largely require action at the European Union level.
The report, titled Protect without preventing: vulnerabilities in the age of generative AI, focuses on consumer-facing chatbots, AI companions and AI-enabled toys. The Élysée said the central proposal does not target professional systems. The commission says market access should depend on an evaluation showing that systems “neither exploit nor aggravate the vulnerabilities of their users.” It also proposes repeated evaluations, with checks after major system changes or alerts; every 12 to 24 months is given as an example interval.
If a provider fails to meet the proposed requirements, the report says withdrawal from the market could be considered. The recommendations also call for restrictions on design that flatters users or makes AI seem human, stronger protections for minors, and a ban on undisclosed commercial influence in chatbot answers. Another proposal would give users rights over information an assistant infers about them. The commission also proposes prior approval for AI toys.
The report groups its recommendations around protecting users and addressing risks associated with generative AI. Its concerns include people relying on AI for decisions, emotional dependence linked to human-like or flattering design, and online violence such as sexual deepfakes. It also flags possible effects on public information and elections, and the risk that business models could profit from users’ vulnerabilities. These are the commission’s assessments, not findings that every chatbot causes such harms.
French Experts’ 18 Ideas for Checking AI Chatbots Before Launch
A French expert commission proposes checks for consumer AI assistants before launch and at regular intervals afterward. The recommendations are not law.
Who and what is covered
The report focuses on consumer products, not professional systems.
Consumer AI assistants
Evaluation would be required before market access under the proposal.
AI companions
The commission calls for safeguards against designs that flatter users or make AI seem human.
AI-enabled toys
The report proposes prior approval for toys using AI.
How proposed checks would work
The commission recommends review before launch and again as systems change.
Assess whether a system exploits or aggravates users’ vulnerabilities before it enters the market.
Recheck after major system changes or alerts; 12 to 24 months is an example interval.
If a provider fails proposed requirements, the report says market withdrawal could be considered.
Other proposed user protections
- Default time limits
- A way to stop a conversation immediately
- Limits on persistent memory
- Restrictions on deceptive, human-like design
- Disclosure of commercial influence in answers
- Rights over information an assistant infers about them
What happens next
The report is intended to inform France’s position on EU digital policy.
How Pre-Launch Checks Could Change Access
The central proposal would change the point at which consumer AI systems face scrutiny: evaluation would take place before market access, not solely after problems emerge. Recurring checks could also make compliance an ongoing obligation, with a new assessment after substantial model changes or a reported concern. For providers, that could mean additional testing and oversight; for users, it is intended to create safeguards before exposure to a system.
The report’s other recommendations address choices users encounter directly. If adopted, default time limits for minors, a way to stop a conversation immediately, and limits on persistent memory could alter how some services operate. Requirements to label commercial influence would also help distinguish sponsored material from answers, according to the commission’s proposal. The practical effect depends on how rules are written and enforced; none of these changes is currently established by the report alone.
The commission’s focus on consumer products matters because chatbots and companions can be used for personal questions and social interaction, while AI toys may reach children through products rather than standalone apps. The report argues for safeguards aimed at these contexts. Its recommendations do not establish that all users are vulnerable or that all systems present the same risks.
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Who Prepared the French Report
The commission, named IA générative et vulnérabilités (“Generative AI and Vulnerabilities”), was formed by France’s Conseil de l’intelligence artificielle et du numérique, an advisory council on AI and digital technology. The minister delegate for AI and digital affairs, Anne Le Hénanff, assigned the work on February 20, 2026. The Élysée described the nine experts as multidisciplinary and independent. The group was led by AI researcher Serena Villata and psychiatrists Raphaël Gaillard and Amine Benyamina.
According to the report, the commission held 55 hearings over four months, involving health professionals, researchers, businesses, regulators and child-protection groups. The full report is 193 pages. The commission cites figures from surveys and official sources to describe use and trust in France, including daily generative-AI use among 26% of 12- to 17-year-olds, attributed to the 2026 digital barometer. Those figures retain the context of their cited sources and do not, on their own, establish that chatbot use causes harm.
The report is intended as input for France’s position on updating the EU AI Act and on other European texts still under negotiation. The Élysée characterized the proposed move toward checks before and after launch as a “paradigm shift.” That description refers to the commission’s recommended approach, not a change already made to European rules.
““A paradigm shift.””
— The Élysée, summarizing the proposed evaluation approach
No Law or Adoption Timetable Yet
As of November 11, the recommendations had not become law, and the source material identified no bill or timetable for implementing them in France. The report does not itself require companies to conduct the proposed evaluations or change product designs. Many measures would need agreement or legal changes at EU level, and the negotiations or legislative steps needed for each proposal remain unspecified.
It is also unclear what evaluation methods, evidence standards or regulators would be used if the proposals were adopted. The report gives a 12-to-24-month interval as an example for recurring checks, but that is not a binding schedule. Details about how age protections, user rights over inferred information, toy approval and possible market withdrawal would work are likewise not settled in the material available.
President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview that risky AI uses for children should be banned, according to the source material. That statement indicates a political concern but does not establish a ban or confirm which practices would fall under it. The commission’s risk assessments and recommendations should also be distinguished from independently verified conclusions about the effects of particular products.
European Policy Work Remains Ahead
The report is intended to inform France’s position as the EU considers an update to the AI Act and negotiates other digital policy texts. The next concrete step would be for French officials to decide whether and how to advance the recommendations in those discussions. No schedule for that process was available as of November 11.
Any eventual rules would need to specify which consumer systems are covered, how pre-launch assessments are conducted, how often repeat checks occur and what happens when a provider does not comply. Until lawmakers or regulators take further action, the 18 proposals remain recommendations from the expert commission rather than requirements for chatbot providers.
Key Questions
What did the French commission recommend?
It made 18 recommendations, nine designated as priorities. They include evaluations of consumer AI assistants before market access and recurring checks afterward, alongside proposed protections for minors and restrictions on deceptive design and undisclosed advertising.
Are the proposed chatbot checks already required?
No. The report is a set of recommendations, not law. As of November 11, 2026, the source material identified no bill or implementation timetable.
Which AI products are in scope?
The report focuses on consumer chatbots, AI companions and AI-enabled toys. The Élysée said the central proposal targets consumer systems, not professional ones.
How often would systems be checked after launch?
The report gives every 12 to 24 months as an example, and also proposes checks after substantial model changes or an alert. This is not a binding schedule because the recommendations have not been adopted as law.
Why does the report call for EU action?
It is intended to inform France’s position on updating the EU AI Act and other European texts under negotiation. Many of the proposed measures would require changes or decisions at EU level.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
