Federal Council Publishes AI Code Toolkit and Sector Report Ahead of the 2027 Consultation on an AI Law
The Federal Council took note of progress on Switzerland’s approach to regulating artificial intelligence at its meeting on October 28, ImTicker reported, publishing new material that sits alongside the binding law now being drafted. The government’s approach combines a legal framework based on the Council of Europe’s AI Convention with voluntary measures for individual sectors.
Two new outputs were released. The first is a report on sectoral AI measures being taken across federal offices. The second is a toolkit to help organisations draft their own AI code of conduct, covering ten topics with three levels of detail each, so that a small firm and a large institution can use it in different depths. The Federal Office of Communications, known as BAKOM, coordinates the voluntary measures.
The binding part follows a separate track. The Federal Council decided in February 2025 to ratify the Council of Europe convention, and the Federal Office of Justice is preparing the draft legislation to implement it, which is due to go out for consultation in spring 2027. The environment, transport, energy and communications department has also been asked to build a knowledge exchange on AI by the end of March 2028.
What it means in practice
Some sector work is already under way. The Federal Office of Culture has run a dialogue on AI and culture since November 2025, the Federal Office of Energy has asked the power sector to draw up guidelines, and a dialogue with the media was held in May 2026. Copyright is moving in parallel, with the Swiss IP institute having outlined a plan with licensing duties, remuneration and a burden-of-proof shift.
For businesses, the toolkit gives a practical way to set internal rules before any law applies, which may be useful for firms dealing with customers or partners in the European Union. Inside government, it complements the five priority areas the Federal Council named for AI in the federal administration. The convention itself has been a theme of recent debate, including at the ETH AI Policy Summit held under Council of Europe auspices.
What to watch next is the content of the consultation draft in spring 2027, how many organisations adopt the code toolkit, and whether more sectors are asked to produce guidelines before the law takes shape.