The AI Act will soon apply to your business

The EU AI Act, in plain language

The AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) is the first broad European regulation that specifically sets rules for both developing and using artificial intelligence. AI was already covered by other rules before, such as privacy legislation. The persistent misconception is that the law only applies to tech companies that build AI. That is not true: organisations that merely use AI fall under it too.

Does this also apply to my business?

The Act distinguishes various roles, including providers (who develop AI or place it on the market under their own name) and deployers (who use an AI system under their own responsibility in a professional capacity). If you use AI to write texts, assess candidates or answer customer questions, you are usually a deployer — the precise definition is in Article 3. Whether the law applies to you does not depend on your sector or size; sole traders and SMEs fall under it too. Note: the Act is risk-based. How heavy your obligations are depends on what the AI system does — from prohibited and high-risk to limited or minimal risk. Many everyday applications carry limited or no additional obligations, and for SMEs and start-ups the law moreover provides relief.

You are probably already using AI

AI is often embedded more deeply in everyday practice than you suspect: the chatbot on your website, the text and image generators employees use, software that pre-sorts job applications, or smart cameras in a shop or warehouse. Note: the same type of tool can, depending on its use, fall into very different categories — from a light transparency obligation to the strictest rules, and in rare cases even a ban. Which regime applies to your application depends heavily on the concrete use. The first step is therefore to get a clear picture of where AI sits in your business.

The timeline — and what recently changed

The Act is being introduced in phases. Since 2 February 2025 the duty of effort regarding AI literacy (Article 4) and the ban on certain practices (Article 5) have applied. On 2 August 2025 came, among other things, the rules for general-purpose AI models, the governance framework and the fines and enforcement regime. On 2 August 2026 the Act becomes largely applicable, including the transparency obligations (Article 50). The requirements for stand-alone high-risk AI (Annex III) were also set to take effect on 2 August 2026, but under a provisional EU agreement (the "Digital Omnibus", May 2026) they are expected to be postponed to 2 December 2027. That agreement has not yet been definitively adopted; the exact dates may therefore still change.

The fines rise in categories (Article 99). For the prohibited practices the highest ceiling applies: up to 35 million euros or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. For other infringements the maximums are lower (up to 15 million or 3%). For SMEs and start-ups, by contrast, the lower of those two amounts applies.

Why a scan instead of an expensive consultancy project

A consultancy project to map out where your business stands with AI can quickly cost hundreds to thousands of euros. The AI Act Wise provides a comparable initial inventory in about ten minutes, for a fixed amount you know in advance. You answer questions in plain language; the outcome is based on the text of the Act and gives a first indication of which elements may be relevant to your situation. It is a tool — not a full, tailor-made legal assessment — that gives you a clear first picture before you incur any costs.

This information is general in nature, reflects the state of affairs at the time of writing and does not constitute legal advice. Regulations and dates of application may change. The AI Act Wise is a self-assessment tool based on Regulation (EU) 2024/1689; for your specific situation, consult a specialist where necessary.