AI glossary

ISO/IEC 42001

Also called ISO 42001, AI management system standard, AIMS.

ISO/IEC 42001 is the international standard for an artificial intelligence management system, first published in December 2023. It sets requirements for the policies, roles, risk assessments and reviews an organisation uses to govern the AI it builds or uses, and organisations can be certified against it by an independent body.

Think of it as

ISO 9001 for quality, applied to how you run AI.

Why it matters at work

Few small organisations need certification, but its structure makes a useful checklist for AI governance: a policy, clear roles, a risk assessment and regular review. Customers in regulated sectors may ask whether you follow it.

Sources

ISO/IEC 42001:2023 Information technology: Artificial intelligence: Management system (opens in a new tab) International Organization for Standardization, December 2023.