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AI and cleaning - the future is now
9th of February 2026 Article by Anna Garbagna
Anna Garbagna, ECJ reporter in Italy, on the impact of new laws around use of AI for the cleaning sector.
With the entry into force of Law no. 132/2025, Italy is among the first European countries to give artificial intelligence a national status, transposing the European Union’s AI Act and introducing rules on transparency, security and responsibility.
This revolution also involves the professional cleaning sector, where technology is now a structural component: from autonomous robots to machines equipped with intelligent sensors, from remote monitoring systems to predictive maintenance software.
Manufacturers are facing a decisive moment, having to understand how to adapt to the new regulations in order to remain competitive, but also to ensure trust and safety for customers and operators.
The first step is to map their products. Any machine or software that uses learning algorithms, artificial vision or predictive analysis can be considered an AI system, with compliance and risk classification obligations. Autonomous scrubber dryer robots, vacuum cleaners with obstacle recognition and automatic planning platforms all fall under the regulation. It is therefore necessary to identify which products actually integrate artificial intelligence, collect up-to-date technical documentation, and assess their impact based on the risk categories defined by the AI Act.
Human supervision
The law focuses on a key principle: AI must remain under human supervision. Each product must therefore allow for manual intervention in the event of an error, offer clear explanations regarding the decisions made by the system and ensure safety even during machine learning processes.
In other words, the technology must be transparent, traceable and understandable. For manufacturers, this means rethinking the design, incorporating clear interfaces, safety controls and constant monitoring systems. But transparency also and above all concerns communication with customers and users.
Law no. 132 requires explicit information to be provided when interacting with an artificial intelligence system. Manuals, labels and commercial documents must specify automated functions, autonomy limits and human control methods. Companies will therefore have to update their documentation and coordinate marketing and engineering, referring to ‘artificial intelligence’ not as a slogan, but as a certified technical feature.
Supply chain
Another key point is responsibility along the supply chain: if a manufacturer integrates software, sensors or AI models developed by third parties, they must verify that these comply with European requirements. It will no longer be enough to trust suppliers: technical audits, dedicated contractual clauses and checks on the origin of the data used to train the systems will be required. Many companies are already introducing an internal AI officer to oversee compliance and maintain relations with the competent authorities.
In the coming months, implementing decrees will be issued, defining penalties and operational details, but the message is clear: cleaning industry companies must act now. Implementing data registers, process traceability and controlled software updates is no longer an option, but a requirement for staying in the market. Law no. 132/2025 thus marks a cultural shift: no longer just technological innovation, but responsible innovation.
Those who can integrate transparency and safety into their products will be able to turn an obligation into a competitive advantage, strengthening the credibility of a sector that looks to the future with increasingly clean, safe and conscious intelligence.
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