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    AI by country · Southern Europe

    AI in Portugal: the rules, the readiness and where to start

    Last checked: 29 October 2026

    What should a company in Portugal know before starting with AI?

    Portugal has no national AI law; the EU AI Act applies directly, alongside the GDPR and Law No. 58/2019, which applies the GDPR in Portugal. ANACOM is named as the AI Act contact point, but its formal designation and a national sanctions regime were still not confirmed as of 29 October 2026. A company should map its AI uses against the AI Act dates, check how it handles employee data, and follow the National AI Agenda for funding and guidance.

    At a glance

    Portugal at a glance

    Key facts about Portugal
    Data protection lawGDPR (applies since 25 May 2018) plus Law No. 58/2019 of 8 August, in force
    RegulatorComissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD) for personal data; ANACOM as AI Act single point of contact, designation pending
    AI policyAgenda Nacional de Inteligência Artificial (ANIA), Council of Ministers Resolution No. 2/2026. No dedicated AI law as of 29 October 2026
    Time zoneWET, UTC+0 in winter and UTC+1 in summer on the mainland and Madeira; Azores one hour behind
    CurrencyEUR (euro)
    Business languagePortuguese; English widely used in business

    Why now

    Why Portugal is worth watching

    Each point links to the document it comes from.

    • Eurostat data show 11.54% of Portuguese enterprises with 10 or more staff used at least one AI technology in 2025, up from 8.63% in 2024 and below the EU figure of 19.95%.[7]

    • The Government approved the National AI Agenda on 4 December 2025, published as Council of Ministers Resolution No. 2/2026 on 8 January 2026, with an action plan for 2026 to 2030.[4]

    • The Agenda estimates that fast AI adoption could add between 18 and 22 billion euros to GDP, and aims to raise national computing capacity from about 60 MW in 2025 to 700 to 1,000 MW by 2030.[4]

    • The Agenda's action plan continues AMALIA, a Portuguese language model project, and plans a national platform of AI products for SMEs.[4]

    • The action plan set the first half of 2026 to define Portugal's AI Act authorities and sanctions; the Commission still listed ANACOM's designation as pending in September 2026.[5]

    The rules

    The rules that matter for AI

    What each law or policy means when you build or buy an AI system.

    General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679

    In force2016People have a right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing with legal or similarly significant effects (Article 22). High-risk processing needs an impact assessment (Article 35), and breaches go to the CNPD within 72 hours where feasible (Article 33). Fines can reach 20 million euros or 4% of worldwide turnover.[3]

    Law No. 58/2019 of 8 August, executing the GDPR in Portugal

    In force2019It names the CNPD as the supervisory authority (Article 3) and sets 13 as the age at which children can consent to online services (Article 16). Article 28 limits employee data: camera recordings may be used only in criminal proceedings, and biometric data only for attendance and access control. The CNPD said in 2019 it would not apply some provisions it saw as conflicting with the GDPR.[2]

    EU Artificial Intelligence Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, as amended by the Digital Omnibus on AI

    Phased2024Prohibitions and AI literacy have applied since 2 February 2025, and general-purpose AI rules since 2 August 2025. Transparency duties under Article 50 apply from 2 August 2026. High-risk rules apply from 2 December 2027 for Annex III systems and 2 August 2028 for AI in Annex I products.[1]

    Portugal's national AI Act authorities and sanctions regime

    Draft2026The National AI Agenda planned this for the first half of 2026. We found no published decree as of 29 October 2026, and the Commission lists ANACOM's designation as pending final adoption. Until it is adopted, how AI Act fines will be enforced in Portugal is not yet confirmed.[5]

    Where AI fits first

    Where AI fits first

    Tourism and hospitality

    Guest messaging in Portuguese, English and other languages, and demand forecasting for bookings.

    Chatbots must tell people they are talking to AI under Article 50 of the AI Act, from 2 August 2026.[1]

    Shared services and contact centres

    Call summaries, ticket routing and quality review for teams serving other countries.

    Article 28 of Law 58/2019 restricts the use of employee monitoring data, so AI that scores staff needs careful review.[2]

    Public administration

    Drafting replies and searching internal documents in Portuguese.

    The National AI Agenda gives a large role to AI in reforming the State and plans an AI Act implementation guide with ANACOM.[4]

    Small and medium firms

    Invoice reading, product descriptions and simple forecasting.

    The Agenda plans a national platform of AI products for SMEs from the second half of 2026.[4]

    Your first steps

    Your first steps

    1. List every AI system you use and mark which fall under the AI Act's prohibited, high-risk or Article 50 transparency categories.
    2. Add an AI notice to chatbots and label AI-generated content now, since Article 50 already applies.
    3. Review any AI that uses employee data against Article 28 of Law 58/2019, especially camera and biometric data.
    4. Run a GDPR impact assessment before using AI on health, credit or hiring decisions.
    5. Give staff basic AI training so you can show the measures you took on AI literacy.
    6. Put a GDPR transfer mechanism, such as standard contractual clauses, in place before personal data leaves the EU.
    7. Watch ANACOM, the CNPD and the Diário da República for the national AI Act decree and guidance.

    AI services for Portugal

    AI consulting and development for teams in Portugal

    We work remotely with companies in Portugal, in your time zone, and keep your data under the rules described above.

    AI agents and automation

    Agents that finish multi-step work across your tools, with people approving what matters.
    Learn more

    Document Q&A (RAG)

    Answers from your own documents, with the source shown for every answer.
    Learn more

    AI governance and data protection

    Policies, review steps and audit trails that fit your local data law.
    Learn more

    Software and cloud engineering

    Web apps, integrations and cloud platforms built around your AI use case.
    Learn more

    How we work with you

    How we work with you

    We work remotely with clients worldwide, in the client's time zone. Mainland Portugal is on UTC+0 in winter and UTC+1 in summer, and India is on UTC+5:30, a gap of 5.5 hours in winter and 4.5 hours in summer. Taking a 9:00 to 18:00 day in Lisbon and 9:30 to 18:30 in India, the overlap is 4 hours in winter (09:00 to 13:00 Lisbon time) and 5 hours in summer (09:00 to 14:00). India has no EU adequacy decision, so personal data we handle from India needs a GDPR transfer mechanism such as standard contractual clauses.

    Questions

    Common questions about AI in Portugal

    Does Portugal have an AI law?

    No dedicated national AI law as of 29 October 2026. The EU AI Act applies directly. Portugal still has to adopt the national rules that name its authorities and set its sanctions.

    Who will supervise AI in Portugal?

    The European Commission lists ANACOM as Portugal's single point of contact for AI Act market surveillance, marked as pending final national adoption. The CNPD stays in charge of personal data.

    Can I use AI to monitor staff?

    Be careful. Article 28 of Law 58/2019 says camera and remote monitoring data can be used only in criminal proceedings, and biometric data only for attendance and access control. AI used to make decisions about workers is also high-risk under the AI Act from 2 December 2027.

    Were the AI Act deadlines delayed?

    Partly. The Digital Omnibus on AI, in force since 27 July 2026, moved high-risk rules to 2 December 2027 and 2 August 2028. Transparency duties still apply from 2 August 2026.

    What are the maximum AI Act fines?

    Up to 35 million euros or 7% of worldwide turnover for prohibited practices, and up to 15 million euros or 3% for most other breaches. For SMEs the lower of the two figures applies. Portugal has not yet set its national enforcement procedure.

    Complimentary tools

    Try these first

    Three complimentary tools from our AI Toolkit that suit a team starting out.

    AI readiness score

    Answer a few questions and see where your team stands, in about five minutes.
    Open the tool

    AI use case triage

    Test an idea against data, risk and effort before you spend on it.
    Open the tool

    AI project cost estimator

    Get a rough build and run cost range for a first AI project.
    Open the tool

    Read next

    Sources

    Sources

    Facts checked on 29 October 2026. Numbers in square brackets above match this list.
    1. [1] European Commission, AI Act Service Desk, 2026-10-29. Timeline for the implementation of the EU AI Act(ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Timeline for the implementation of the EU AI Act. Primary. Accessed on this date; the page states it reflects the Digital Omnibus on AI (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force 27 July 2026).

    2. [2] Diário da República, 2019-08-08. Lei n.º 58/2019, de 8 de agosto(files.diariodarepublica.pt)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Lei n.º 58/2019, de 8 de agosto. Primary. Read in full text. Used for Articles 3, 16 and 28. The CNPD's 2019 decision not to apply some provisions (Deliberation 2019/494) is taken from a Garrigues law-firm summary, used for interpretation only.

    3. [3] Boletín Oficial del Estado (copy of the Official Journal of the EU, L 119), 2016-05-04. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation)(boe.es)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation). Primary GDPR text, read in the Spanish official copy because EUR-Lex could not be opened from our tools. Used for Articles 22, 33, 35 and 83.

    4. [4] Presidência do Conselho de Ministros, via digital.gov.pt, 2026-01-08. Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 2/2026, Agenda Nacional de Intel…(bo.digital.gov.pt)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 2/2026, Agenda Nacional de Inteligência Artificial. Primary. Read in full text. Used for the approval date (4 December 2025), publication in Diário da República No. 5, the GDP and computing estimates, AMALIA, the SME platform and the AI Act implementation initiatives IV.4 and IV.6.

    5. [5] European Commission, 2026-09-07. Market surveillance authorities under the AI Act(digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Market surveillance authorities under the AI Act. Primary. Lists ANACOM as Portugal's single point of contact, marked as national designation pending final adoption.

    6. [6] European Commission, AI Act Service Desk, 2026-10-29. Article 99: Penalties(ai-act-service-desk.ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Article 99: Penalties. Primary. AI Act fine caps: up to 35 million euros or 7% for prohibited practices, 15 million euros or 3% for most other breaches, lower cap for SMEs.

    7. [7] Eurostat, 2026-06-15. Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise (isoc_eb_ai)(ec.europa.eu)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Artificial intelligence by size class of enterprise (isoc_eb_ai). Primary dataset, read through the Eurostat API. Indicator E_AI_TANY, enterprises with 10 or more persons employed, excluding the financial sector.

    This is general information, not legal advice. Portugal's national AI Act rules were still pending when we checked, and the GDPR law has provisions the CNPD does not apply. Check with a qualified Portuguese lawyer before you act. Facts checked on 29 October 2026.

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