EU AI Act Risk Classifier — which tier is your AI system?
The EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) sorts every AI system into one of four risk tiers, and the tier decides what you must do before 2 August 2026. This free classifier walks you through the plain-language triggers for each tier and returns the concrete obligations that attach. Tick what your system does, hit classify, and read off where you stand — prohibited, high-risk, limited (transparency), or minimal.
This classifier is guidance, not legal advice. It simplifies Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 to help you orient quickly — the legal text, delegated acts and national guidance govern. For anything that could be high-risk or prohibited, get a qualified assessment before you ship.
Tick every statement that is true of the AI system you are assessing. Leave the rest blank. The classifier reads the tiers in priority order — a single prohibited or high-risk trigger decides the outcome.
- When do the EU AI Act obligations start?
- Prohibited practices (Article 5) and the AI-literacy duty (Article 4) have applied since 2 February 2025. Rules for general-purpose AI models and the governance framework started on 2 August 2025. The full high-risk regime for Annex III systems and the Article 50 transparency rules apply from 2 August 2026. High-risk systems that are regulated products under Annex I follow on 2 August 2027.
- What is the difference between high-risk and limited-risk AI?
- High-risk systems (Annex III / Article 6) are used in sensitive domains — recruitment, credit, education, biometrics, essential services — and must meet the full compliance regime: risk management, data governance, technical documentation, human oversight and conformity assessment. Limited-risk systems only trigger transparency duties under Article 50: telling people they are dealing with AI and labelling AI-generated content.
- Is this classifier legal advice?
- No. It is a fast orientation tool based on Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. It does not account for delegated acts, national implementation or the specifics of your deployment. Treat a high-risk or prohibited result as a prompt to get a qualified legal and technical assessment.
Not sure the mapping holds for your system?
An AI Act audit pins down the tier, the gaps and the evidence you need before 2 August 2026 — with a documented trail your enterprise customers and auditors will accept.