EU AI Act compliance for SMEs
The AI Act was written with big tech in mind, but applies to your organization as soon as you use or buy AI. The good news: for most SMEs the route is more manageable and cheaper than advisory firms suggest.
The direct answer
Under the AI Act, most SMEs are deployers: you use or buy AI but do not place AI systems on the market. Compliance then comes down to four things: knowing which AI runs in your organization (including the tools employees use on their own), determining the risk class per system, ensuring staff are sufficiently AI literate (Article 4, in force since 2 February 2025), and making your customer-facing AI meet the Article 50 transparency obligations by 2 August 2026. Embed AI delivers that foundation working, at fixed prices, without a team of consultants and without mandatory software licences. Dutch SMEs can additionally have up to 60% of a learning and development project reimbursed through the SLIM scheme.
The four steps for an SME
1. Inventory your AI use
Including shadow AI: the ChatGPT accounts, AI features in existing software and tools departments bought themselves. Without an overview, every next step is guesswork.
2. Classify per system
Most SME applications fall into the lighter categories. But AI in recruitment, employee evaluation or credit decisions is high-risk and requires a heavier route towards 2 December 2027.
3. Arrange AI literacy with evidence
Article 4 asks for suitable measures so employees understand AI well enough. A standalone course without a dossier is too thin; training and recording per role is efficient through a learning platform.
4. Check customer-facing AI against Article 50
Chatbots must identify as AI by 2 August 2026 and AI-generated content must be recognisable. This deadline has not been postponed and hits many SME websites in particular.
What does this cost an SME?
Fixed prices, known upfront, excluding VAT. For comparison: large firms almost always bill hourly without a public number, and governance software quickly costs tens of thousands of euros per year. Most SMEs do not need that.
SLIM subsidy: up to 60% reimbursed
For Dutch SMEs, the SLIM scheme reimburses up to 60% of an advisory and implementation project around learning and development, such as an organizational review with an AI literacy training plan or the roll-out of an e-learning approach. The next application window runs from August to September 2026. On request we include a draft activity plan for the application with our proposal.
Frequently asked questions from SMEs
Does the EU AI Act even apply to small companies?
Yes. The obligations apply as soon as you use, buy or offer AI, regardless of company size. The burden for a deployer is much lighter than for a provider, though, and the law accommodates smaller organizations on some points. The core for SMEs: overview, classification, AI literacy and transparency.
We only use ChatGPT and some AI features in our software. Do we need to do anything?
Yes, at least three things: map this use, ensure demonstrable AI literacy for the employees working with it (Article 4, already in force) and set usage rules, for example about customer data in AI tools. That is exactly what the scan and the Readiness Sprint deliver working.
What does EU AI Act compliance cost for an SME?
Knowing where you stand is free via the quickscan. A guided governance scan costs EUR 2,950 (creditable once against a follow-up engagement that starts within 60 days), a complete working foundation via the Readiness Sprint EUR 9,900 fixed, and the full engagement including evidence and implementation EUR 21,900 fixed. Dutch SMEs can have up to 60% of a learning and development project reimbursed via the SLIM scheme.
Do we need governance software?
Almost never. For an SME with a handful of AI applications, a well-structured register in existing systems is enough, with an owner and anchoring in procurement and release. Software licences of tens of thousands of euros per year are rarely justified at this scale.
Which deadline is most urgent for us?
Article 4 (AI literacy) has applied since 2 February 2025. The Article 50 transparency obligations apply from 2 August 2026 and have not been postponed; they hit every SME website with a chatbot or AI content. The high-risk obligations moved to 2 December 2027, but if you use AI in HR or credit, use that runway.
Can we not simply do this ourselves?
Largely yes, and that is the intention: our approach delivers a set-up your own people maintain afterwards, without vendor lock-in. The value of guidance is speed and certainty: a working foundation with evidence in weeks, instead of months of research next to running the business.
Know where your company stands in 5 minutes
Take the free AI Act quickscan. You immediately see which of the four steps needs attention.