An AI inventory is an authoritative, maintained record of the AI systems and material AI use cases an organization develops, procures, or operates. A useful inventory connects each entry to ownership, purpose, lifecycle state, affected stakeholders, third parties, data, risk tier, controls, and evidence.
An organization cannot govern systems it cannot see. The inventory is the operational spine for scoping reviews, monitoring obligations, incidents, vendors, and regulatory reporting.
Primary authority anchors the definition. Research links add conceptual or operational depth. External sources may update independently; always verify legal duties against the current official text.
Operational guidance for documenting contexts, components, actors, impacts, and lifecycle information.
Establishes a management-system basis for controlled information, scope, roles, and continual improvement.