---
title: "GPAI"
description: "General-purpose AI model: under the AI Act, a model that shows significant generality, can competently perform a wide range of distinct tasks and can be integrated into many downstream systems."
canonical: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/gpai
author: "Jorge García Aibar"
license: "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)"
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197
version: "0.5.0"
updated: 2026-09-25
---

# GPAI

General-purpose AI model: under the AI Act, a model that shows significant generality, can competently perform a wide range of distinct tasks and can be integrated into many downstream systems [1]. The Commission's indicative criterion is training compute above 10^23 FLOP [2]. The AI Office enforces GPAI duties from 2 Aug 2026.

- Developed in: [ch. 18, General-purpose AI models](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/eu-ai-act#general-purpose-ai-models); [ch. 11, Foundation models and GPAI](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/ai-defined#foundation-models-and-gpai)
- Chapters: [ch. 08, Regulatory Map](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/regulatory-map) · [ch. 11, AI Defined](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/ai-defined) · [ch. 18, EU AI Act](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/eu-ai-act)
- Contrast with: [Foundation model](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/foundation-model)
- In the glossary chapter: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/glossary#t-gpai

## Sources

[1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), consolidated text as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI, in force 27 Jul 2026; definitions in Art. 3, incl. 3(1), 3(3) to 3(14), 3(14b), 3(20), 3(22), 3(23), 3(29) to 3(32), 3(49), 3(55) to 3(57), 3(60), 3(61), 3(63), 3(68); Arts. 4, 5, 6 (incl. 6(3) third subparagraph, profiling), 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22 to 27 (incl. 26(11)), 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 53 (incl. 53(1)(c)), 55, 57, 60, 72, 73, 86; Annexes I, III, IV). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2026-07-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng (verified: primary)
[2] Commission Guidelines on the scope of the obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models (content approved 18 July 2025 by C(2025) 5045 final; formal text C(2025) 7719 final of 19 Nov 2025; paras. 65 to 68 on modifiers; non-binding; indicative criterion of training compute above 10^23 FLOP with the ability to generate language, images or video). European Commission. 2025-11-19. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/guidelines-scope-obligations-providers-general-purpose-ai-models-under-ai-act (verified: primary)