Glossary
What is AI Act?
The AI Act is the European Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, which sets rules for AI systems based on their risk. It entered into force on 1 August 2024 and applies in phases.
AI Act explained
The AI Act classifies AI systems by risk. Some uses are prohibited, such as social scoring and certain forms of emotion recognition in the workplace. High-risk systems, for example for recruitment or credit scoring, must meet strict requirements. Other systems mainly face transparency obligations, such as telling people they are talking to a chatbot.
The regulation distinguishes between providers, who develop an AI system or place it on the market, and deployers, who use it in their organisation. Most companies that use AI for reporting or analysis are deployers and fall outside the high-risk category, but they still have obligations, such as ensuring sufficient AI literacy among staff.
Since 2 February 2025, the prohibited practices and the AI literacy obligation have applied. The remaining obligations apply in phases; keep an eye on the current timetable from the European Commission and the regulators, as deadlines can be adjusted.
Example
Acme Groothandel uses AI to turn questions about revenue and stock into database queries. That is not a high-risk use, but Acme still records which AI tools are used, who may use them and how staff learn to check the results.
AI Act in ENABLE
ENABLE holds no certifications and does not automatically make an organisation AI Act compliant. Its design does support responsible use: the AI receives only metadata, the query is shown next to every AI answer, the user runs it themselves, and every executed, blocked or failed query is recorded in the audit log.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does the AI Act apply to my business?
Probably, if you use or offer AI systems in the EU, but your obligations depend on your role and the risk of the application. For most business uses it is about AI literacy and transparency, not the heavy requirements for high-risk systems.
When does the AI Act apply?
The AI Act entered into force on 1 August 2024 and applies in phases. The prohibited practices and the AI literacy obligation have applied since 2 February 2025; later deadlines follow for the other parts.
What is the difference between the AI Act and the GDPR?
The GDPR governs the processing of personal data, whatever the technology. The AI Act sets requirements for AI systems themselves, based on their risk. When AI processes personal data, both apply.
Further reading
- ResourcesAI Act and GDPR for AI on business dataIf you use AI on business data in the EU, two sets of rules apply: the AI Act, which sets requirements for AI systems based on their risk, and the GDPR, which applies as soon as personal data is processed. For most internal analytics applications, the focus is mainly on AI literacy, transparency and the GDPR basics: a lawful basis, a data processing agreement, data minimisation and, where necessary, a DPIA. This article is a practical orientation, not legal advice.Read more
- SolutionAI governance: control over data, AI and accessWho sees what, what the AI receives and who approves: practical AI and data governance.Read more
- SolutionSecure AI for business: private AI on your dataWhat private, secure AI really means, and how ENABLE limits what the AI sees of your data.Read more
- SolutionAI on your own data: ask questions of business dataQuestion your data warehouse in plain language. The AI sees the structure, not your rows.Read more
Use AI on your own data. Securely, and without the headache.
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