Every Irish and UK business using AI has compliance obligations. Most don't know it yet.

The EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) is live EU law. It entered into force on 1 August 2024 and is phasing in over several years. Prohibited practices and AI-literacy rules have applied since 2 February 2025; general-purpose AI model rules since 2 August 2025. The high-risk obligations were originally due from 2 August 2026, but under a provisional EU agreement reached on 7 May 2026 (the "Digital Omnibus"), standalone high-risk systems (Annex III) are set to be deferred to 2 December 2027 and high-risk AI built into regulated products (Annex I) to 2 August 2028. That agreement still needs formal adoption, which the EU institutions intend to complete before August 2026 — so treat the new dates as the likely planning timeline, not yet settled law. Enforcement happens at Member State level. Ireland is in the process of designating its competent authorities under Article 70, and several existing regulators (including the Data Protection Commission and sectoral bodies) share responsibility in the meantime. The UK is not an EU Member State and does not have an equivalent single AI law — but if your UK business places an AI system on the EU market, or its outputs are used in the EU, you fall within the Act’s scope (Article 2). In practice, any Irish or UK SME with EU customers is in scope.

If your business genuinely uses zero AI tools, you have no obligations under the AI Act and don’t need this tool. Most SMEs use more AI than they realise: website chatbots, Shopify recommendation engines, automated CV-screening in an ATS, CRM lead-scoring, ChatGPT for copy, smart pricing in accounting software, even spam filters. The free assessment will surface these quickly. If it returns "no AI in scope," you can stop there — no payment required.

Your solicitor’s view takes precedence over anything in this report. This tool is designed as a starting point — it surfaces the obligations the Act is likely to impose based on your answers and the text of Regulation 2024/1689, and points to the specific Articles. A solicitor can weigh facts we can’t see (contracts, procurement terms, data flows) and may reach a different view. If your solicitor identifies a material error in your report, reply to the email it arrived in and we’ll refund you.

Payment goes through Stripe. Once the payment is confirmed, the full PDF report is generated and emailed to the address you used at checkout — usually within one to two minutes. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder before contacting us. Every report has a unique ID on every page so you can reference it in support emails or share it with your solicitor. There is no login, no subscription, and no recurring charge.

Your obligations under the AI Act are tied to what you actually do, not to the date you ran your assessment. If you add a new tool — e.g. a hiring tool that ranks candidates, or a new customer-facing chatbot — your obligations will change and the earlier report may no longer reflect your position. You can re-run the free assessment at any time. If you want an updated full report, purchasing a second report is currently the way to get one — we don’t yet offer a subscription or a re-run discount. If that would be useful, reply to any email from us and let us know.

No. The AI Act Audit is an informational tool. It is not a substitute for advice from a qualified Irish or UK solicitor and does not create a solicitor–client relationship. We identify the obligations the Act is likely to impose based on your answers and point to the specific Articles so you (or your solicitor) can read the source. For high-risk use cases — and for any material decisions about compliance spend, contracts, or risk — consult a solicitor.

The AI Act Audit was built by Matthew Hoban, based in Ireland, for Irish and UK SMEs who need a clear, affordable first pass at AI Act compliance without spending €500–€1,500 on an initial solicitor review. Questions, corrections, or feedback: matthewhoban9@gmail.com.