The Commission published draft guidelines on 19 May 2026 on when an AI system is high-risk under Article 6 AI Act, with practical classification examples, for targeted consultation.
Status note. Draft guidelines only — the final version may differ. Classifications tested against the draft should be revisited when the final guidelines are adopted (expected later in 2026).
What changed
On 19 May 2026 the Commission published draft guidelines on the classification of high-risk AI systems under Article 6 of the AI Act. They cover both routes to high-risk status — AI used as a safety component of products under EU harmonisation legislation requiring third-party conformity assessment (Annex I), and the Annex III use cases — and include the Commission's interpretation of the classification concepts plus practical examples of systems that should and should not be classified as high-risk. The draft was put to a targeted stakeholder consultation, with final guidelines to follow.
Why it matters
High-risk classification decides whether the Act's heaviest obligations attach at all. The draft shows the Commission's intended reading before those rules bite under the revised timetable — early enough to test borderline classifications against the examples and to respond while the text can still change.
Who is affected
Teams whose systems sit near the Annex III boundary — recruitment, credit, education, essential-services use cases — and manufacturers embedding AI in regulated products, plus the compliance teams preparing classification files for market-surveillance authorities.
Rolescompliance teamslegal teamsAI governance leadsproduct leads
OrganisationsAI providersAI deployersmanufacturers of regulated products
What to check next
- Compare your existing high-risk classifications against the draft's worked examples, for both the Annex I and Annex III routes
- Identify systems whose classification would change under the draft reading and document the delta
- Review whether a consultation response is worthwhile where the draft cuts against your current classification
- Prepare to re-run the comparison when the final guidelines are adopted
Key dates
- 2026-05-19Draft guidelines published for targeted consultation
Source. European Commission — draft guidelines on high-risk AI classification ↗
Document: Draft Commission guidelines on the classification of high-risk AI systems (AI Act, Article 6)
Verified by Trusq against this source on 4 Jul 2026. Trusq publishes only what it can trace to an official source; the source text prevails. Not legal advice.
Document: Draft Commission guidelines on the classification of high-risk AI systems (AI Act, Article 6)
Verified by Trusq against this source on 4 Jul 2026. Trusq publishes only what it can trace to an official source; the source text prevails. Not legal advice.