Are you in scope and don't know it?

Most UK firms using AI think they're outside the EU AI Act. Many are wrong. If you sell into the EU, process EU data, or use an AI-enabled HR, credit, or hiring tool — the Act applies to you.

Take the 90-second check

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Days to 2 Aug 2026

€35M

Penalty ceiling

High-risk sectors

— The problem

The Act is here. Most firms haven't checked.

The EU AI Act became law in August 2024. Prohibitions on certain practices have been enforceable since February 2025. The big one lands on 2 August 2026: full high-risk obligations, transparency duties, and AI register requirements.

— 01

It applies extraterritorially

If your AI touches an EU resident — through HR systems, credit decisions, chatbots, or outputs sent to a customer — you're in scope, regardless of where you're based.

— 02

SaaS tools count too

Your ATS, performance management software, and scheduling platform may already be high-risk AI under the Act. The obligation sits with you, not the vendor.

— 03

Penalties are real

Up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover for prohibited practices. €15M or 3% for high-risk non-compliance. Larger than GDPR.

— The check

Five questions. Honest answer.

Built from the same Annex III decision tree we use with paying clients. We're not going to pretend everyone is in scope — plenty of firms aren't. But you should know.

Q 1 / 5

Scope check

Question 01

Does your business sell to, operate in, or process data from the EU?

EU-based customers, employees, candidates, or users. Even one EU-resident user can bring you into scope.

Question 02

Do you use AI in hiring, performance, or HR decisions?

ATS shortlisting, CV screening, performance monitoring, scheduling, promotion or termination tools — including AI features inside SaaS platforms you didn't build yourself.

Question 03

Does AI influence access to credit, insurance, education, or essential services?

Credit scoring, insurance pricing, eligibility decisions, education assessment, healthcare access. Profiling individuals at scale counts — even partially.

Question 04

Do you deploy chatbots, AI-generated content, or automated communications?

Customer-facing chatbots, AI-written emails or marketing, AI-generated images or video, deepfake or voice tools. Article 50 transparency duties land in August 2026.

Question 05

Do you have a documented AI policy and named owner today?

Article 4 already requires AI literacy across providers and deployers. A documented policy, a named accountable person, and a register of AI systems are baseline expectations.

Result

Your scope position

→ Get the full guide

The 2026 AI Governance Compliance Guide

Plain-English breakdown of the Act, the eight high-risk sectors, the readiness checklist, and the UK position. Sent direct to your inbox.

We'll email the guide and follow up once with a sector-specific note. Unsubscribe any time. No third-party sharing.

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— What's in the guide

A guide that actually answers the question.

Plain English. Designed for the operations, HR or compliance lead who needs to brief the leadership team on Monday.

— 01

The four-tier risk framework

Plain-English mapping of unacceptable, high, limited and minimal risk — with worked examples for each tier.
— 02

Eight high-risk sectors decoded

HR, credit, education, biometrics, infrastructure, law enforcement, migration, justice — with the watch-outs that catch firms by surprise.
— 03

The full enforcement timeline

Every key date through 2030, including the August 2026 deadline and the current Omnibus position.
— 04

UK-specific guidance

What the UK position means for British firms, and which existing UK laws already regulate AI use today.
— 05

Readiness checklist

Eighteen items across inventory, governance, transparency and high-risk obligations — ready to score against.

— Who we are

Practical AI governance, without the noise.

Wise Key Solutions is a UK-based consultancy with over 40 years of combined experience in software delivery and digital systems. We help mid-market firms find out where they stand, build the governance scaffolding the Act requires, and stay there.

Run the scope check