Which EU connection matters?
A Swiss registered office does not exclude the AI Act. Article 2(1) covers, among others, these cases:
- As a provider, you place an AI system on the EU market or put it into service there.
- You deploy an AI system from an establishment or location in the EU.
- You are a provider or deployer in Switzerland whose AI system outputs are used in the EU.
- An EU business relationship alone does not answer the question: record how the specific AI application is connected to it.
What role does your business have?
Deployers use an AI system under their authority. Providers develop it or have it developed, and market it or put it into service under their own name.
Record more than the tool name: are you buying an existing application for your team? Offering customers your own AI product? Modifying another system or its intended use? Gather vendor documentation and describe your changes for the assessment.
Prepare one page for each application
Use this template for an application you actually use or plan to introduce. Mark missing information as “open” and name the person who will resolve it.
- System: name, version, vendor and internal owner.
- Task: what inputs does the AI receive, what does it produce and who uses the result?
- EU connection: where is the system offered or used? Where and for what purpose are its outputs used?
- Consequences: who is affected by the output? Does it support drafting or influence a decision such as selecting job applicants?
- Review: who checks and corrects the result? What data rules and vendor documentation are available?
Practise AI literacy through actual tasks
The European Commission relates AI literacy to the context of use and participants’ existing knowledge. Article 4 does not require a specific certificate; organisations can keep internal records of training and guidance.
For practical preparation, ask colleagues to review an intentionally flawed AI draft. Can they spot an invented source, missing information or an unauthorised promise? Record the task, errors discussed and remaining learning needs. People administering connected systems should also practise managing permissions and possible actions.
Turn the record into next steps
Use the application record to have the relevant obligations and current deadlines assessed. An internal writing assistant and applicant selection require different assessments. Consider Swiss requirements alongside these.
Start practical preparation by assigning an owner, defining permitted tasks and data, and practising output review. Revisit the record when the system, purpose or use in the EU changes. A seminar alone does not establish legal compliance.