GovernanceCore
Regulation

Provider

Working definition

Reviewed 30 July 2026

Under the EU AI Act, a provider is a person, organization, public authority, agency, or other body that develops an AI system or general-purpose AI model—or has one developed—and places it on the market or puts the system into service under its own name or trademark.

Context

Why it matters

Provider status carries the Act’s primary design, documentation, conformity, monitoring, and corrective-action duties. Contract labels alone do not determine the role.

Operating note

What this looks like in practice

  1. 01Assess who controls purpose, branding, development, modification, and market placement.
  2. 02Map role changes across vendors, integrators, product manufacturers, and deployers.
  3. 03Flow evidence and cooperation duties through supply-chain contracts.

Sources & further research

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.

  1. Official source

    Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Articles 3(3), 16, 25, and 53

    Defines provider status and sets obligations across AI systems, value chains, and GPAI models.

    European Union
    2024    Open source ↗