Provider

What is a Provider under the AI Act?

Under the AI Act, a Provider is a person or organization that develops, or has an AI system developed, and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark, whether for payment or free of charge. Placing on the market means making an AI system available on the Union market for the first time. Putting into service means using it for its intended purpose for the first time.

Which obligations are associated with this role

The AI Act imposes extensive obligations on Providers: risk management, technical documentation, conformity assessment before placing on the market and—for High-Risk AI—ongoing post-market monitoring. For General-Purpose AI models, Providers are also subject to specific documentation and information obligations.

Practical significance

Provider obligations apply regardless of where the company is established once an AI system is placed on the market or used in the EU. Depending on the situation, a company may simultaneously be both a Provider and a Deployer—for example, when it also uses an AI system that it has developed itself.

Example

A company develops its own AI-powered recruitment assistant and uses it under its own name. It is the Provider—even if the system is also used within the company itself, making the company the Deployer at the same time.

Further reading

Related terms

→ AI Act
→ Deployer
→ High-Risk AI