EU AI Act: the first steps when nobody knows where AI runs in the house
Updated: 2026-09
AI Act preparation rarely fails on the assessment and almost always on the inventory: nobody knows which AI systems actually run in the company. The first step is therefore not a compliance project but a stocktake.
Many companies know the EU AI Act affects them and still fail to get moving. The reason is rarely unwillingness. It is that nobody can answer the first question: which AI is actually running here?
AI mostly does not enter a company as an AI project. It arrives as a feature in a procured tool, an assistant in office software, a suggestion function in the CRM, a chatbot that marketing set up. None of those appear on an IT list as AI.
Without that inventory, all further work is piecemeal. You cannot classify what you do not know, and you cannot estimate effort without knowing how many systems are involved. That is exactly why preparation so often loops in declarations of intent.
How it works
- 01
Ask broadly instead of searching narrowly
Do not ask about AI, ask about functions: what suggests, summarises, sorts, scores or detects patterns? That surfaces the systems nobody records as AI.
- 02
Include procured software
Work through the feature lists of the tools in use. Most of the AI in a company arrived with a product.
- 03
Note the purpose per system
Do not describe the technology, describe what it is used for. Classification follows the purpose, not the model.
- 04
Sort roughly first
Separate obviously uncritical systems from potentially sensitive ones — anything that scores people, controls access or prepares decisions belongs in the second group.
- 05
Only then classify
With the sorted inventory, run the actual Article 6 classification. Now the effort becomes estimable.
Why it fits here
A guided assessment replaces the blank page on which most stocktakes fail — the questions are given and the result is structured.
Team workspaces let the inventory be spread across departments instead of loading it onto one person who cannot know everything.
The free plan allows a start without an investment decision — and the inventory is precisely the part that precedes any investment.
FAQ
How long does an inventory take?
It depends on the number of departments. The effort sits in the asking, not the assessing — and it drops considerably when the questions are given.
What if we barely use AI?
Then the result is a short, documented finding — and that is valuable. Certainty beats the vague worry of having missed something.
Must we really record every tool?
Everything that is an AI system in the sense of the law. The depth of further work then follows the risk, not the number of systems.
Who should run the inventory?
Ideally one coordinating person with input from the departments. A single person without input inevitably misses what runs outside their area.
What comes after the inventory?
Article 6 classification and, from that, the effort. Only at that point can budget and timeline be discussed seriously.
AI Risk Check
A guided assessment replaces the blank page on which most stocktakes fail — the questions are given and the result is structured.
Team workspaces let the inventory be spread across departments instead of loading it onto one person who cannot know everything.
The free plan allows a start without an investment decision — and the inventory is precisely the part that precedes any investment.