Provider
An entity (natural or legal person, public authority or body) that develops or commissions an AI system or general-purpose AI model and places it on the market or puts it into service under its name or trademark.
How the laws define this
Regulatory frameworks generally agree that a provider is a natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that develops an AI system or general-purpose model—or has one developed—and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark. This core entity bears primary regulatory obligations across the product lifecycle, including risk management, technical documentation, conformity assessments, and post-market monitoring. The principal divergence across these texts lies in how far the definition expands beyond primary development and supply. Mainstream legislation, such as Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 and the Draft Act on Artificial Intelligence Systems, focuses on actors creating and releasing models or systems under their brand. Conversely, operational frameworks like the Generative AI Guidelines for the Public (SDAIA) extend the definition to third-party vendors offering cloud infrastructure, model hosting, or APIs, while non-regulatory programs like the Digital Skills Initiative (Digitale Kompetenzoffensive) reframe providers as accredited educational institutions, municipalities, or training units delivering digital literacy activities.
Synthesised from the 56 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.
How jurisdictions differ
What is distinctive in each definition, binding law in force first. Showing 9 of the 55 instruments that define this term; all are listed under Definitions below.
| Jurisdiction | Instrument | Status | What is distinctive |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence and amending Regulations (EC) No 300/2008, (EU) No 167/2013, (EU) No 168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, (EU) 2018/1139 and (EU) 2019/2144 and Directives 2014/90/EU, (EU) 2016/797 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Artificial Intelligence Act) | In Force (Amended) | Explicitly includes entities that have an AI system or general-purpose AI model developed and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark, whether for payment or free of charge. |
| China | Interim Measures for the Administration of Generative AI Services | In Force | Broadly covers entities that develop, train, deploy or operate generative models and make generated content available to the public, focusing on generative AI services. |
| Italy | Law No. 132 of September 23, 2025 - Provisions and Delegations to the Government on Artificial Intelligence | In Force | Specifies primary compliance obligations including documentation, notification/registration duties, conformity assessment, and cooperation with market surveillance authorities. |
| Chile | Decree (No. 12) Approves Update of the National AI Policy | In Force | Distinguishes providers from operators or deployers specifically for allocating responsibilities for governance, risk assessment and compliance. |
| Lithuania | Amendments to the Law on Information Society Services (measures to implement EU AI Act / accelerate AI development) | In Force | Emphasizes responsibility for risk and fundamental-rights impact assessments alongside technical documentation, conformity assessment, and transparency information. |
| Spain | National AI Sandbox | In Force | Includes entities that develop, supply or place an AI system under its own name or trademark, with duties for technical documentation and risk assessments in the sandbox. |
| Slovakia | Act No. 318/2025 Coll., amending and supplementing Act No. 56/2018 Coll. on product conformity assessment (EU AI Act adaptation) | In Force | Mirrors the EU AI Act definition verbatim, covering any natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that develops or has one developed. |
| Ireland | Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 | In Force | Focuses on entities developing or having an AI system developed with a view to placing it on the market or putting it into service under its name or trademark. |
| South Korea | Generative AI Ethics Guidebook (NIA / KCC – sectoral guide for generative AI) | In Force | Encompasses actors building, owning, deploying, or operating generative AI systems, including developers, model owners, and service operators. |
What it triggers
- Under the EU AI Act, providers must ensure compliance including technical documentation, conformity assessment, registration for high-risk systems, and post-market monitoring.source
- In China under the Interim Measures for the Administration of Generative AI Services, providers must comply with operational obligations like data governance, safety controls, labeling, record-keeping and cooperation with authorities.source
- In Italy under Law No. 132, providers bear primary compliance obligations including documentation, notification/registration duties, conformity assessment, and cooperation with market surveillance authorities.source
- In Lithuania under Amendments to the Law on Information Society Services, providers must maintain technical documentation, perform risk and fundamental-rights impact assessments, ensure conformity assessment, and provide transparency information.source
Definitions (56)
The natural or legal person that develops or produces an AI system and places it on the market; responsible for preparing technical documentation, impact assessments and complying with registration and conformity obligations under the bill.
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or places it on the Union market or puts it into service, and who is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Regulation's obligations applicable to providers. Providers must fulfil duties including conformity assessment, technical documentation, registration (for high-risk systems), and post-market monitoring.
Any commercial or non-commercial entity supplying AI systems, components, or services to educational institutions, and thus responsible for contractual data processing terms, documentation, security obligations and compliance with the strategy's requirements.
The natural or legal person responsible for developing or making an AI system available on the market; providers bear responsibilities for documentation, risk assessment, transparency measures (e.g., labelling), and preparatory conformity steps under the measures package guidance and forthcoming EU rules.
The legal person that develops, supplies or places an AI system on the Union market or puts it into service; providers bear primary compliance duties including implementing risk management, preparing technical documentation, carrying out conformity assessments, post‑market monitoring and, where applicable, registering systems in the EU database.
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system, places it on the Union market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark, or modifies an AI system in a way that affects its compliance; providers bear primary obligations for compliance, documentation, conformity assessment and post-market monitoring under the Regulation.
Any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark; providers are primarily responsible for compliance with the Act's obligations (documentation, risk management, conformity assessment, registration).
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or places it on the Union market under its name or trademark and thus bears primary responsibilities for classification, risk management, technical documentation, conformity assessment and registration where applicable.
A natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops or offers an AI system under its own name or trademark, or places it on the market or puts it into service, and which bears primary obligations for compliance, technical documentation, conformity assessment, registration and cooperation with national supervisory authorities in the transposition framework.
The developer or natural or legal person that places an AI system on the market or puts it into service, and who is responsible for compliance with the obligations set out by the AI Act and the national implementation framework.
A natural or legal person that develops an AI system or places an AI system on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark, or on its behalf. Providers bear primary obligations for compliance, including documentation, risk management, conformity assessment and registration where applicable.
The organisation or natural person responsible for creating, training or supplying an AI model or system, tasked with producing technical documentation, model cards and complying with security, testing and funding conditions under the Action Plan.
A natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or a general-purpose AI model or that has an AI system or a general-purpose AI model developed and places it on the market or puts the AI system into service under its own name or trademark, whether for payment or free of charge.
The person (natural or legal) who develops, supplies or otherwise places an AI system on the market or makes it available to third parties; providers are identified as actors whose information and technical documentation may be subject to disclosure orders in litigation under the draft directive.
The natural or legal person who is responsible for placing the GPAI model on the Union market or putting it into service; this actor is expected to prepare and retain required technical documentation, public summaries, copyright policies and to comply with Code obligations where adopted.
The actor that develops and makes a GPAI model available to others (including via API, library, download, or physical media); the Guidelines also specify that actors who materially modify, fine‑tune, or redistribute a model can become providers for the purposes of obligations under the AI Act. This definition determines who bears documentation, transparency and compliance duties for GPAI models.
The natural or legal person that develops and places the GPAI model on the market or puts it into service in the Union, including entities that modify an upstream model and thereby become the provider under the AI Act; providers are responsible for publishing the Template summary and complying with its obligations.
The legal person or organisation that develops, supplies or makes an AI system available on the market or places it into service, bearing responsibilities for ensuring conformity, documentation, and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements as set out in the strategy and the EU framework.
A natural or legal person who develops, deploys, places on the market or makes available an AI system in the EU; providers bear primary obligations under the Act such as classifying the system, implementing risk management and data governance, preparing technical documentation, conducting conformity assessments, registering high‑risk systems and performing post‑market monitoring.
A natural or legal person who develops and places an AI system on the market or puts it into service and therefore bears primary compliance obligations under the statute, including documentation, notification/registration duties, conformity assessment, and cooperation with market surveillance authorities.
An organization or natural person that designs, develops, trains, or makes available an AI system or model for use by others, including commercial suppliers and research institutions; responsible for meeting statutory obligations for development, documentation, and pre-deployment controls.
An entity that makes an AI system available to users or customers, responsible for obligations such as registration (if high‑risk), third‑party testing/certification, incident reporting, and maintaining conformity certificates under NAIO's implementation framework.
The person or legal entity that places an AI system on the Union market or puts it into service and thereby bears primary obligations under the Act, including ensuring conformity assessments, maintaining technical documentation, implementing risk‑management systems, and registering high‑risk systems as required.
The entity that develops, produces, or supplies an AI system and is responsible for obligations such as conducting risk assessments, preparing documentation (e.g., model cards), and obtaining any required registrations or certifications under the Bill.
A legal or natural person responsible for the development, deployment, or placing into service of an AI system, including entities that market or make systems available; providers bear primary obligations under the draft such as conducting risk assessments, maintaining technical documentation, registering high-risk systems, and reporting incidents.
The natural or legal person who develops an AI system and places it on the market or makes it available, charged with primary responsibilities such as conducting conformity assessments, preparing technical documentation, registering high‑risk systems, implementing security measures, and performing post‑market monitoring and incident reporting.
Third‑party vendors or service providers offering cloud infrastructure, model hosting, APIs, or other services that enable model deployment and inference; providers are expected to meet contractual security, data‑handling, and audit obligations to support secure and compliant model operation.
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops or places an AI system on the market under its name or trademark and bears primary responsibility for compliance duties such as risk management, DPIAs, technical documentation, conformity assessment and post‑market monitoring as specified in the draft.
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or places it on the Union market or puts it into service and is primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with the Regulation’s obligations (such as conformity assessment, technical documentation, CE marking and registration), unless responsibility is contractually allocated to another actor.
An entity that develops, supplies, places on the market, or makes available an AI system or AI service within Thailand or to persons in Thailand; providers bear primary obligations under the decree (e.g., risk management, registration, conformity).
An organization or individual responsible for developing, deploying, or supplying an AI system to users or customers, including obligations for governance, documentation, and post‑deployment monitoring across the system lifecycle.
An entity that develops, produces, supplies or markets an AI system and is responsible for ensuring that the system meets statutory requirements, including design-time risk management, technical documentation and conformity evidence prior to placing it on the market or into service.
Any natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that develops an AI system or has an AI system developed and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark, and which therefore bears primary regulatory obligations under the Act.
The actor responsible for developing, providing, or placing an AI system on the market or otherwise making it available for use. The policy distinguishes providers from other roles (such as operators or deployers) for purposes of allocating responsibilities for governance, risk assessment and compliance.
Broadly defined entities that develop, train, deploy or operate generative models and make generated content available to the public; providers are subject to the Measures' operational obligations across the model lifecycle (data governance, safety controls, labeling, record-keeping and cooperation with authorities).
The natural or legal person who develops an AI system or has it developed and places it on the Union market or puts it into service under their name or trademark; providers bear primary compliance obligations (risk management, documentation, post-market monitoring, conformity assessment, CE marking and registration where applicable).
The natural or legal person that develops an AI system and places it on the market; the designated actor responsible for ensuring compliance with registration, technical documentation, conformity assessment, and other legal obligations under the national implementation of the EU AI Act.
A natural or legal person who places an AI system on the EU market or puts it into service and who is responsible for compliance duties such as maintaining technical documentation, performing risk and fundamental-rights impact assessments, ensuring conformity assessment, and providing required transparency information.
Any natural or legal person that develops an AI system, has one developed and places it on the Union market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark, or modifies an existing system such that it can be considered a new supply; providers bear primary responsibility for ensuring conformity, preparing technical documentation, post‑market monitoring and registering high‑risk systems.
An entity that develops, supplies, or places an AI system on the market or into service and is responsible for maintaining technical documentation, conducting risk assessments, producing transparency artefacts, and providing channels for redress as required by the strategy.
An organisation or natural person that develops, deploys or makes an AI system available on the market or for use by third parties; the Strategy adopts the EU AI Act framing to assign responsibilities for compliance, documentation, and certification to providers.
An organisation or individual responsible for the development, deployment, maintenance or provision of an AI system, including those who make the system available to users or integrate it into products or services. The Code uses this term to assign governance, accountability and compliance obligations.
The natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or has an AI system developed and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark; providers bear primary obligations for conformity, documentation, risk management and registration under the Act.
The legal person or organisation that places an AI system on the market or puts it into service and therefore carries primary responsibilities for pre‑market conformity, technical documentation, registration, and ensuring the system meets legal requirements.
The entity that places an AI system on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark, and which bears primary obligations under the Act for design, development, conformity assessment, documentation and compliance.
The natural or legal person who develops an AI system, has it developed, or places it on the market or puts it into service; the provider bears primary regulatory obligations under the Act including conformity assessment, technical documentation, post‑market monitoring, transparency duties and ensuring compliance with prohibited practices.
An entity that develops, supplies or places an AI system under its own name or trademark; responsible for preparing technical documentation, risk assessments and ensuring compliance with sandbox conditions and applicable legal obligations.
The natural or legal person that develops an AI system, has it developed, places it on the market or puts it into service under its name or trademark, and thus bears primary obligations for risk management, conformity assessment, documentation and registration.
A provider is any natural or legal person, public authority, or body responsible for developing an AI system or having it developed, and subsequently placing it on the market or putting it into service under their own name or trademark. They bear primary responsibility for the AI system's compliance.
'Providers' are entities that develop or have an AI system developed and place it on the market or put it into service.
Any natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that develops an AI system or has one developed to place it on the market or put it into service under its name or trademark, for payment or free of charge.
Any natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that develops an AI system or has an AI system developed with a view to placing it on the market or putting it into service under its name or trademark.
Any natural or legal person, public authority, agency, or other body that develops an AI system or has an AI system developed and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name or trademark.
Organisations accredited or recognised to deliver DKO activities, including accredited education institutions, non‑formal adult education trainers, municipalities running workshops, and public administration training units; providers must comply with contractual funding conditions, reporting and GDPR obligations when participating in the programme.
Actors responsible for building, owning, deploying, or operating generative AI systems, including developers, model owners, and service operators who bear operational and legal responsibilities for design, deployment, and monitoring.
External vendors, model or API providers who develop, supply, host or maintain AI models or services used by deployers. The Guidelines treat providers as parties subject to contractual security, provenance, assurance and supply‑chain requirements.
Not to be confused with
Deployer uses an AI system under its authority for professional purposes, while provider develops or places it on the market.
Downstream provider specifically integrates AI models into their systems, whereas provider generally develops or places AI systems on the market.
Distributor makes an AI system available on the EU market without affecting its properties, unlike provider who develops or places it under its own name.
Questions and answers
What obligations do providers have under the EU AI Act?
Providers must prepare technical documentation, perform conformity assessments, register high-risk systems, and conduct post-market monitoring. They place AI systems on the market or put them into service under their own name or trademark.
Who is considered a provider of generative AI services in China?
Entities that develop, train, deploy or operate generative models and make generated content available to the public. They face obligations across the model lifecycle including data governance and safety controls.
Does having an AI system developed for you make you a provider?
Yes, under the EU AI Act and several national laws, entities that commission development and place the system on the market under their own name become providers with full compliance obligations.
Related Terms
Deployer
A deployer is a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body that uses an AI system under its authority for professional/organisational purposes (excludes personal use)....
Downstream Provider
Provider integrating AI models into their systems....
Authorised Representative
EU-based entity mandated to represent non-EU AI providers....
Importer
An entity in the EU that places on the Union market an AI system bearing the name or trademark of a person established outside the EU....
Distributor
Any entity in the supply chain that makes an AI system available on the EU market without affecting its properties....