Back to all articles
regulation·August 12, 2026·7 min read

The EU AI Act: what SMEs must do now

Risk classes, documentation duties and AI literacy — the practical minimum for small and mid-sized companies.

You are probably a deployer, not a provider

Most SMEs use AI systems built by someone else. That makes you a deployer, with lighter but real duties.

Build an AI inventory List every AI system in use, who owns it, what data it touches and which decisions it influences.

Classify the risk Most SME use cases — drafting, summarising, forecasting — are minimal or limited risk. HR screening, credit scoring and biometric use are high risk and need far more.

Meet the transparency duties Tell people when they interact with an AI system and label synthetic content.

AI literacy is mandatory Staff working with AI systems must be trained appropriately. A short, documented internal training already goes a long way.

Write it down Policy, inventory, training log, human-oversight rules. Documentation is what an audit actually asks for.