On October 10, 2025, the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ) announced at its congress in Zsukiménes the launch of "ErdélyGPT": a Hungarian-language, locally informed AI assistant intended to help people interpret Romanian official documents and draft Romanian-language applications, statements and petitions. The plan was presented by Antal Árpád, who was appointed the RMDSZ's strategic director during the congress.
The project was promoted enthusiastically in RMDSZ communications and social media, where ErdélyGPT was at times described as "Transylvania's coolest project."
RMDSZ response: preparation phase
In replies to the newsroom's inquiries, RMDSZ stated that ErdélyGPT is currently in a preparation phase. According to the organisation, development work has not yet begun, and therefore many technical, operational and data‑management decisions have not been finalised.
This position appears to conflict with a November 2025 internship call from RMDSZ that sought five students for language and content quality assurance for ErdélyGPT — tasks included evaluating Q&A pairs, logging errors, following test cases and sending feedback to developers. The RMDSZ has not provided follow-up information about whether interns were selected or whether they actually worked on the project.
Domains, live interfaces and the question of ownership
A search for ErdélyGPT turned up several domains: erdelygpt.hu, erdelygpt.ro and erdelygpt.com. The erdelygpt.hu site allowed registration and chat interactions, but RMDSZ did not clearly state which, if any, of these sites are officially theirs or whether live services using the ErdélyGPT name are operated by the organisation.
The newsroom's hands‑on testing of a publicly accessible ErdélyGPT interface revealed functional issues: the deep‑analysis feature did not work, some answers were duplicated, and long responses caused the interface to jump to the end of the reply, disrupting readability. Despite these observable behaviours, RMDSZ's May response maintained that development had not even started — leaving unclear who or what the public chat instances actually represent.
Data protection and terms of use concerns
The erdelygpt.hu chat window contains a faint disclaimer that "ErdélyGPT provides informational content; consult an expert for official matters." However, the public interfaces do not make it clear whether conversations and uploaded documents are used for development, bug‑tracking or for political analysis (for example, voter profiling). RMDSZ did not provide concrete answers about data handling when asked.
Funding — uncertainty over Hungarian support
Earlier efforts to secure funding included attempts to apply for support from Hungary. According to sources with visibility into applications to the Bethlen Gábor Alap (BGA), requests for funding for ErdélyGPT were submitted, and after a change of government further attempts were made. One source indicated the current Hungarian government is not interested in supporting the project. RMDSZ has not disclosed alternative funding plans in detail.
Outreach to partners
In June, Vincze Lóránt, RMDSZ’s Member of the European Parliament, posted that he had met Burton Davis, a Microsoft vice‑president, in Strasbourg and sought Microsoft partnership for ErdélyGPT. The post did not, however, indicate a completed collaboration or an available service.
Practical test: guidance on an ID card case
The newsroom tested erdelygpt.hu with a routine hypothetical: a 30‑year‑old Romanian citizen whose permanent address is in Csíkszereda (Miercurea Ciuc) but currently in Kolozsvár (Cluj‑Napoca) wants to obtain a first electronic ID card without changing their registered address. We asked whether it could be completed in Kolozsvár, how to book an appointment, which documents were needed and whether personal attendance is required — and asked for official sources.
ErdélyGPT initially provided a structured, generally correct overview: it stated that the ID can be applied for in Kolozsvár without changing address and that personal presence is necessary for the photo and fingerprints. However, when it came to booking an appointment the assistant suggested checking the Kolozsvár office website or using suggested Romanian search terms, instead of giving a direct booking link (the Interior Ministry runs a national appointment system that could have been linked).
The payment information was inconsistent. ErdélyGPT mentioned a fee of 67 lei, payable at the tax office, a post office or at a customer service desk. The Cluj municipal website, however, contained contradictory information: an introductory note said the first electronic ID is free, while the fee table listed 70 lei effective after August 29, 2026. The Interior Ministry's guidance continued to state that the first electronic ID for Romanian citizens aged 14 and older is free. A registry office in Iași (Jászvásár) clarified that the first electronic ID remains free after August 29, with discrepancies arising from changes in financing: earlier the documents were funded from the EU recovery fund and pricing did not automatically shift to clients after the programme's conclusion.
In the newsroom's scenario the applicant fell into the free category, meaning the assistant had recommended a payment that would not have been required. Further, the payment locations and amounts the assistant cited were not clearly supported by the official sources we checked. Although the assistant promised to list sources at the end of its reply, no concrete links appeared — typically the answer contained only institution names or further searching tips. By contrast, a similar query to ChatGPT produced direct official references and an appointment link.
What this means for users and for RMDSZ
The combined picture is one of uncertainty: publicly accessible ErdélyGPT instances deliver varying and sometimes unverified details, while RMDSZ maintains the official project is still in preparation. Key unresolved questions include who operates the live erdelygpt sites, how user data and uploaded documents are handled, from what sources the assistants draw their information, and whether the RMDSZ project has stable funding.
A Hungarian‑language assistant that understands Romanian administrative procedures could be genuinely useful. But nearly a year after the congress announcement, RMDSZ has not provided clear evidence of development progress, operator responsibility or data‑protection arrangements. Without clarification, the most fully realised part of the ErdélyGPT story remains the announcement itself, while the practical and governance details required for safe public use are still lacking.
