Anthropic has confirmed it will add watermarks to text produced by its AI models, including Claude, in order to meet European regulatory requirements. The disclosure came through an updated support page, where the company detailed its approach to marking machine-generated content. The move aligns with the EU AI Act’s Transparency Code, which took effect on August 2 and obliges AI firms to label generated or edited content in a way that other systems can recognize.

According to Anthropic, all models released after August 2 will automatically include technology that watermarks both computer-generated text and files. For files, the company is adopting the C2PA open standard. The firm also said it plans to extend watermarking to older models, and that the watermark becomes part of the text itself, traveling along when users copy and paste it. As the support page explains, the watermark is applied at the model level, so it appears regardless of which Claude product or surface the text originates from, including the Claude platform API, Claude, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and Claude Tag.

It remains unclear how much editing would strip the watermark, and Anthropic has been asked for clarification. The announcement comes as platforms increasingly rush to watermark AI content, partly due to user backlash and regulatory pressure. Last week, music platform Suno said it would mark tracks after legal challenges, and last month Substack partnered with Pangram to flag AI-generated material, with CEO Chris Best coining the term “Claudefishing” for people using AI to create content. Beyond Anthropic, other firms such as Black Forest Labs, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Synthesia have also committed to following the EU’s code.

Source: TechCrunch