MyEPO pushes EPO further into AI-enabled, paperless examination

Following the weekend maintenance on 23 May, the EPO’s digital direction is easier to read than before. Public materials do not present every change as one single product launch, but the pattern is now clear: MyEPO is being reinforced as the operational hub for file access and online interaction, AI-supported classification is being extended behind the scenes, and AI-assisted minuting in oral proceedings is moving beyond pilot use.

This is not just another interface refresh. For applicants and representatives, the more important point is that the EPO is steadily connecting filing, online exchanges, collaborative drafting, DOCX handling and the recording of oral proceedings into one paperless workflow. That will reduce friction, but it also pushes preparation upstream. The closer a case gets to a key response deadline or an oral hearing, the less room there is for improvised wording, loose version control or evidence that has not been properly organised.

This is less a cosmetic update than a workflow shift

MyEPO is no longer just a place to look at files. The EPO has already described it as the central hub of its online services, covering digital files, Mailbox communications, procedural actions, representative management and collaborative tools such as the shared area. The 2026 legal framework for MyEPO then pushed that direction further by confirming the service structure and by stating that some functionalities may be rolled out progressively depending on the user category. Read together, those signals point to a bigger story than a routine maintenance window: the Office is trying to place more of the user journey inside one controlled digital environment.

That matters because many patent teams still operate with a split workflow. They enter a system online, but the real drafting, comparison of versions and consolidation of instructions still happen outside it. As the EPO keeps concentrating actions, exchanges and records around MyEPO, the hidden cost of that old habit goes up. The real question is no longer whether a task can be done digitally. It is whether the team knows, early enough, which text is final, which amendments are submission-ready and which fallback requests need to stay alive.

AI-supported classification may change search and response timing

The EPO’s 2026 Quality Action Plan uses careful wording: AI-based routing of incoming applications and AI-powered classification of prior art were extended to support more complete searches. That may sound modest, but it is strategically important. It suggests that AI is not only being used to sort files faster; it is also being pushed deeper into the way prior art is organised and surfaced for examination.

For applicants, the practical consequence is not simply speed. It is the prospect of broader and earlier search coverage. Borderline documents, adjacent technical fields and cross-domain prior art may appear sooner and more consistently. That is especially relevant for software, AI and mixed hardware-software inventions, where arguments have often relied on a narrow reading of the main citation. A safer response strategy now starts earlier: build layered amendments, isolate the real technical effect and make the implementation story easier to defend before the search record hardens against you.

Oral proceedings are becoming more digital, but not less formal

The EPO has confirmed that, after a successful 2025 pilot, AI-assisted drafting of minutes in oral proceedings is being extended beyond selected examining and opposition divisions. The model is important. The Office is not handing decision-making to a machine. It is audio recording oral proceedings, transcribing them and using those transcripts as input for the drafting of the official minutes. The competent department remains responsible for the content; the recordings and transcripts do not become part of the public file, are not shared with the parties and are deleted once the minutes have been issued.

That setup says a great deal about the EPO’s current use of AI. The technology is being inserted into the drafting and consolidation layer, not into legal discretion. But users should not read that as a softening of procedure. Quite the opposite. The clearer, cleaner and more disciplined the case presentation is during a VICO oral hearing, the stronger the resulting record is likely to be. Oral proceedings are not becoming casual. They are becoming less forgiving of half-formed requests and wording that is meant to be fixed later.

Shared documents, DOCX and paperless exchange move version control upstream

The EPO’s 2026 DOCX notice quietly adds an important operational point. DOCX documents may be filed through Online Filing 2.0, through MyEPO where applicable and, in certain contexts, electronically during oral proceedings or consultations held by videoconference. The same notice also states that in the shared area, a clean version agreed between applicants and examiners may be filed directly without another round of rendering or conversion. The Guidelines go further and describe the shared area as a confidential environment for real-time interaction on documents, with relevant parts later cited in or annexed to the minutes. In practice, that is the real substance behind what users may perceive as a new paperless interaction layer.

The point is not simply to save paper. It is to move the old version-control problem much earlier in the life of the case. Teams that still rely on a last-minute chain of comments, offline clean-up and manual merging will feel more pressure, not less. A better approach is to prepare substitution text, clean and marked-up versions, key evidence and fallback requests before the consultation or oral hearing begins. The EPO is reducing procedural friction, but it is not removing complexity. It is exposing that complexity sooner, when users still have time to manage it well.

The direct impact is earlier preparation, not just a faster process

At first glance this looks like a technical upgrade. In reality, it changes the order of work. Many teams still compress major drafting and evidence decisions into the final days before oral proceedings or a critical reply. As MyEPO, shared drafting, DOCX handling and AI-assisted minuting become more tightly connected, that habit becomes harder to sustain. The teams that will benefit most are the ones that settle request structure, documentary support, replacement text and speaking points well before the hearing room opens.

For applicants and representatives with a large European caseload, the message is straightforward. Version control before oral proceedings should become a managed process, not an improvisation. The timing of supplemental evidence and fallback requests should be reviewed earlier. And each case should be reassessed to decide which textual issues are better solved in a consultation through the shared area and which points should be reserved for formal procedure. The EPO’s direction is now hard to miss: paperless working is no longer only an efficiency slogan, and AI is no longer just a front-end label. Together, they are reshaping when users prepare, how they submit and what kind of record they leave behind.