Commission guidelines clarify what counts as an 'AI system' under the AI Act

On 6 February 2025 the European Commission published guidelines on the definition of an AI system, explaining the practical application of the legal concept anchored in Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. They help determine whether a given piece of software qualifies as an AI system in scope of the Act. The guidelines are non-binding and designed to evolve with practical experience.

Scoping is the first gating question of every AI Act assessment: if a system is not an 'AI system', none of the Act's obligations attach. These guidelines are the Commission's yardstick for that call.

Any organisation maintaining an AI inventory — compliance and legal teams deciding which internal tools and vendor products fall in scope of the Act.

Re-run the scoping step of your AI inventory using the guidelines' criteria, and record the reasoning for systems you classify as out of scope.