Reference

AI Act Glossary

Plain-language definitions of the 27 terms that matter most under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — with the practical consequence for online merchants spelled out.

Definitions

Artificial intelligence system

Automated system with varying autonomy that generates predictions, content, or decisions.

Art. 3(1)

Biometric identification system

AI intended to identify persons by comparing biometric data to a reference database.

Art. 3(35)Art. 5(1)(d)

Emotion recognition system

AI intended to identify or infer emotions from biometric data.

Art. 3(39)Art. 5(1)(f)

Biometric categorisation system

AI that assigns persons to categories based on biometric data.

Art. 3(40)Art. 5(1)(g)

General-purpose AI model (GPAI)

AI model capable of performing a wide range of distinct tasks.

Art. 3(63)Art. 51Art. 53

GPAI model with systemic risk

GPAI with high-impact capabilities or training compute above 10²⁵ FLOPS.

Art. 3(65)Art. 51(2)Art. 55

General-purpose AI system

AI system based on a GPAI model.

Art. 3(66)Art. 51

Technical documentation

Information demonstrating conformity of the AI system.

Art. 11Annex IV

Risk levels

High-risk AI system

Subject to the full set of AI Act obligations.

Art. 6Annex IAnnex III

Limited risk AI system

Transparency obligations without being high-risk — typical for AI product photos.

Art. 50

Minimal risk AI system

Outside high-risk, prohibited, and Art. 50 categories.

Art. 95

Prohibited AI practices

Uses strictly prohibited as contrary to Union values.

Art. 5

Actors

Provider

Develops an AI system and places it on the market.

Art. 3(3)Art. 16

Deployer

Uses an AI system professionally — your store when you publish AI product photos.

Art. 3(4)Art. 26

Importer

EU person placing on market an AI system from outside the EU.

Art. 3(6)Art. 23

Distributor

Supply-chain actor making an AI system available.

Art. 3(7)Art. 24

Authorised representative

EU person mandated by a non-EU provider.

Art. 3(5)Art. 22

Obligations

Transparency obligation

Inform persons they interact with AI or view AI-generated content.

Art. 50Art. 13

Human oversight

High-risk systems must be effectively overseen by people.

Art. 14Art. 26(2)

Data governance

Practices for training, validation, and testing datasets.

Art. 10

Risk management system

Continuous identification and mitigation of AI risks.

Art. 9

CE marking

Conformity marking for high-risk AI systems.

Art. 48Art. 49

EU declaration of conformity

Written attestation of regulatory compliance.

Art. 47Annex V

Conformity assessment

Process demonstrating compliance before market placement.

Art. 43Annex VIAnnex VII

Fundamental rights impact assessment (FRIA)

Pre-deployment assessment for certain deployers.

Art. 27

Governance

AI regulatory sandbox

Controlled framework for testing AI under supervision.

Art. 57Art. 58

European AI Office

Commission body overseeing GPAI regulation.

Art. 64Art. 88

Obligations by Article →

This page is a plain-language summary for orientation only. It is not legal advice — the binding text is Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.

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