The EU AI Act is the European Union's regulation governing artificial intelligence, which classifies AI uses by risk and attaches obligations to each tier. It reaches UK businesses that place AI systems on the EU market or whose AI output is used in the EU, so a UK-only registered office does not by itself put an organisation outside its scope.
Why it matters for a UK business
It is law, not guidance, and it reaches UK businesses whose AI systems affect people in the EU regardless of where the company is based. A UK firm using AI only for internal drafting is in a very different position from one whose model screens job applicants or affects access to credit.
What it looks like in practice
It classifies AI systems by risk. Prohibited uses are banned outright. High-risk uses carry heavy obligations. Most business AI sits in the limited or minimal categories, where the duties are lighter but not nothing, and transparency to users still applies.
What to do about it
Map every AI use in the business against the risk tiers. If nothing sits in high-risk and you have no EU exposure, the Act is a document to be aware of rather than a project. If either is true, it is a project with a date on it.
Related terms
Read next
The EU AI Act for UK SMEs → · All 22 terms in the glossary · The resource library
If this is the term that has come up in your business and you want it worked through against your own situation rather than in the abstract, that is a conversation, not a page.
Speak to ChrisWritten by Chris Duffy. Last reviewed .