Vendors compared · Art. 50(2)
AI watermarking vendors compared for EU AI Act Article 50
Verda, SynthID (Google), Adobe Content Authenticity and Meta AudioSeal / Video Seal, from what each company says about itself.
Updated 16 October 2026. From Art. 50 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the Commission Guidelines and the Code of Practice (June 2026). A vendor publication by Verda Inc. Not legal advice.
Vendors compared
What each vendor says about itself
| Criterion | Verda | SynthID (Google) | Adobe Content Authenticity | Meta AudioSeal / Video Seal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modalities | Image, audio, video | Image, audio, video, text | Image; video and audio planned per company | Audio, video, image |
| Available to third-party providers | Yes, API and SDK | Applied within Google products; SynthID Text open source | Yes; enterprise API, free web app in beta | Open source |
| Writes C2PA manifest with the mark | Yes | Google is a C2PA member; per-product | Yes | No |
Five more rows
| Criterion | Verda | SynthID (Google) | Adobe Content Authenticity | Meta AudioSeal / Video Seal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free public detection with API | Yes | Portal announced by Google; API availability per Google | Free inspect tool and Chrome extension; watermark lookup API | Run the open model yourself |
| Provider-resolvable payload (SB 942 fields) | Yes, via resolver | Not published | Watermark links back to the C2PA manifest | Payload bits; resolver not provided |
| Verified identity tier | Yes, optional, verified identity | No | Yes, LinkedIn verification in the app | No |
| Deployment | Cloud, EU region, private, on-prem, air-gapped | Google Cloud | Adobe cloud | Self-hosted |
| Text watermarking | No; roadmap | Yes, open source | No | No |
Where Verda is weaker: no text watermarking, which the Code covers for longer text; no open-source encoder; younger company with fewer public deployments than Adobe or Google. Where Verda is stronger: one API across three modalities available to any provider, both Code layers written at encode, a provider-resolvable payload aligned with SB 942 fields, and an optional verified-identity tier built into the watermark record.
Where Verda is stronger
- One API, three modalities, any provider
- Both Code layers at encode
- Optional verified identity
Where Verda is weaker
- No text watermarking
- No open-source encoder
- Fewer public deployments than Adobe or Google
Vendor rows cite each company's public site as of 17 September 2026 (Adobe: 7 October 2026); corrections welcome.
FAQ
Common questions
Which watermarking vendors can I use to comply with EU AI Act Article 50(2)?
This page compares Verda, SynthID (Google), Adobe Content Authenticity and Meta AudioSeal / Video Seal on modalities, availability to third-party providers, C2PA manifests, free public detection, provider-resolvable payloads, verified identity, deployment and text watermarking, from what each company says on its public site.
Which AI watermarking tools also write a C2PA manifest?
Per each company's public site: Verda and Adobe Content Authenticity write a C2PA manifest with the mark; Google is a C2PA member, per product; Meta AudioSeal / Video Seal do not.
Which vendors offer free public detection of their watermark?
Verda offers free public detection with an API. Adobe has a free inspect tool and Chrome extension, and a watermark lookup API. Google has announced a portal, with API availability per Google. Meta's models are open source, so you run detection yourself.
Does Verda watermark AI-generated text?
No. Text watermarking is on the roadmap, and the Code covers longer text. SynthID Text is open source.
More in the playbook
Other sections
Eight steps for providers
Mark at generation, attach a C2PA manifest, offer free detection, test, document. A checklist you can tick, with the detail for each step.
Open the checklist → Exemption test · Art. 50(2)Narrow ways out
Assistive editing, output authorised for criminal-offence work and the real-time carve-out, against what keeps you in scope.
Run the exemption test → Marking approachesWhy the Code asks for two layers
Manifests are stripped on re-upload. The watermark persists. C2PA, labels, fingerprinting, classifiers and watermarks compared.
Compare approaches → TimelineDeadlines
New systems mark from 2 August 2026, systems already on the market from 2 December 2026, interoperable detection by 2 February 2027.
Full timeline →