EU AI Act
The European Union's regulation on artificial intelligence, which classifies AI systems by risk and sets obligations for providers and deployers according to that risk.
Definition
The EU AI Act is a regulation, so it applies directly in every member state. It takes a risk-based approach. Unacceptable-risk practices, such as social scoring by public authorities and certain manipulative systems, are prohibited. High-risk systems, including many used in recruitment, credit, education, medical devices and critical infrastructure, must meet requirements on risk management, data quality, documentation, logging, human oversight, accuracy and robustness. Limited-risk systems carry transparency duties, such as telling people they are talking to AI or labelling synthetic content. Everything else is minimal risk and unregulated by the Act.
The Act also sets rules for general-purpose AI models (the LLMs most businesses build on), with extra duties for models judged to carry systemic risk. Obligations differ for providers (who build or substantially modify a system) and deployers (who use it). Enforcement includes fines scaled to global turnover. The Act entered into force in 2024 and its obligations apply in stages over the following years.
Example: a company uses an AI tool to shortlist job applicants. That is a high-risk use. As deployer it must use the system as instructed, ensure human oversight, inform candidates, and keep logs; the vendor, as provider, must supply conformity documentation.
Why it matters for your business
- It applies to non-EU companies whose AI systems or outputs reach the EU market.
- Classification decides your workload; most business uses are limited or minimal risk, but the high-risk list is long.
- Deployer duties mean buying a vendor's AI does not remove your responsibility.
- The documentation it asks for is largely what good governance produces anyway.
How Teksmobile uses it
Our EU AI Act readiness service inventories your AI systems, classifies them, and produces the gap list and documentation plan for each. It builds on our broader AI governance work and is often combined with an ISO/IEC 42001 programme.
Related terms
Part of the Teksmobile AI Glossary. Read the full EU AI Act compliance guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does the EU AI Act apply to UK or non-EU companies?
Yes, if you place AI systems on the EU market or their output is used in the EU. Like the GDPR, it reaches beyond the EU's borders.
Is a customer-support chatbot high-risk?
Usually not. It typically falls under transparency obligations: users must be told they are interacting with AI. High-risk categories cover areas such as employment, credit, education, critical infrastructure and law enforcement.
When do the obligations apply?
They are phased in over several years from the Act's entry into force in 2024, with prohibited practices first and most high-risk obligations later. Check the current timetable, which has been subject to proposed adjustments. See our EU AI Act compliance guide.