Newsbite analysis · AI, Regulation
9to5mac
OpenAI details new text watermarking system for ChatGPT, Codex, API
OpenAI has detailed its new text watermarking technology, textGrain, to comply with the EU AI Act. This system marks AI-generated text with an invisible signal, allowing for identification while ensuring it doesn't meaningfully impact text quality. Initially, its rollout will be limited to select users in the EU, with OpenAI also seeking feedback from approved researchers. The technology faces challenges, such as false positives and negatives, especially with shorter texts.
MonitorConfidence: MediumShort term horizonStory: First report
EvidenceOfficial announcementIndependent evidenceNo quotes
Published 5 Oct 2026, 22:31 UTC4 min read
Lead image — 9to5mac
Brief
NewsBite reading:OpenAI introduces text watermarking system for compliance with EU AI Act
TL;DR
- OpenAI introduces textGrain, a watermarking technology for AI texts.
- The rollout will initially target users within the European Union.
- Text watermarking aims to comply with the EU AI Act's requirements.
- Detection technology has limitations, producing false positives and negatives.
- OpenAI plans to make the watermarking technology available as open source.
Interesting facts
- Editing watermarked text significantly reduces detection accuracy.
- Watermarked outputs scored higher in certain benchmarks despite no meaningful performance difference.
What changed