Turn EU AI Act readiness into a competitive advantage

The EU AI Act is widely described as the first comprehensive legal framework for AI. It establishes rules for developing, deploying, and using AI systems in the European Union.

With phased enforcement beginning in 2026, organizations may need to start taking steps to prepare. And while it’s easy to get caught up in readiness efforts, aligning with the EU AI Act is about more than checking a box to reduce potential risks. When implemented effectively, it can help support your organization’s long-term AI strategy.

In this article, we share general information and practical considerations to help your organization prepare for EU AI Act readiness and drive value from your AI investments.

The EU AI Act sets requirements relating to AI governance, risk management, and AI literacy. Organizations may face fines or corrective measures for non-alignment with applicable requirements—but they may also benefit from strengthening their AI practices. 

According to the 2025 Tech Skills Report, two thirds of organizations report abandoning AI projects due to lack of skilled staff. And while McKinsey research found that nearly eight in ten companies report using gen AI, many say they haven’t yet seen a significant bottom-line impact.

Organizations can face challenges delivering value with AI, and aligning with the practices outlined in the Act may help support both readiness efforts and more effective AI implementation.

Like the GDPR, the EU AI Act is wide-reaching and applies to organizations and systems within and outside of the European Union, depending on specific circumstances.

In general, the EU AI Act may apply if you fall into one of these three buckets: 

1. You sell AI systems in the EU. If you place or make AI systems available on the EU market, the EU AI Act may apply, regardless of where you’re headquartered.

2. Your AI systems are used in the EU. If your AI system is used in the EU or its output affects individuals in the EU, the EU AI Act may apply, even if the system is operated outside the EU.

3. You deploy AI systems to EU-based employees. If you deploy AI systems to employees located in the EU, certain obligations under the EU AI Act, including AI literacy requirements where applicable, may apply.

Assess your organization's specific facts and role to determine if the Act applies to you.

Article 4 of the EU AI Act requires providers and deployers of AI systems to take measures to ensure a sufficient level of AI literacy among their staff, taking into account their technical knowledge, experience, education, and training, as well as the context in which the AI systems are used.

At a high level, this may include ensuring relevant staff understand what AI is, how it works, how your organization is using it, and its associated risks and opportunities. The measures you implement should reflect your organization’s specific role and needs.

For example, organizations that develop AI systems may require different AI training than organizations that only use AI systems developed by another entity. Likewise, people building AI systems may require different training than people who only use AI in the course of their work.

According to the Act, AI literacy initiatives should account for:

• The context an AI system is being used in. For example, in which sector is the AI system being used? What is it being used for? Who will be affected?

• Differences in technical knowledge, experience, education, and training among staff. 

The key here is to provide structured, documented measures appropriate to your organization’s role. According to the European Commission, “In many cases, simply relying on the AI systems’ instructions for use or asking the staff to read them might be ineffective and insufficient.”

Learn more about the EU AI Act and what it means for businesses.

Certain provisions of the EU AI Act (including Article 4) have already been in effect since February 2025. Broader enforcement powers become applicable in 2026, subject to the Act’s phased implementation schedule.

Organizations subject to the Act are expected to meet applicable obligations by the relevant deadlines. Administrative fines for certain infringements can reach up to €35 million or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher, depending on the type of violation and final determinations by competent authorities.

Note: EU AI Act specifics are dynamic and subject to change. 

View the full implementation timeline.

AI/ML is one of the top technical skills gaps globally, alongside cybersecurity and cloud. Taking steps to align with the EU AI Act, including Article 4, may help address those gaps and support responsible AI innovation.

These steps may help you approach readiness and build an AI skills advantage.

According to the 2025 Pluralsight AI Skills Report, 79% of employees and executives overestimate their AI knowledge. Before developing an upskilling strategy, consider asking employees to complete surveys or skill assessments about their AI knowledge.

This can help serve two purposes. For one thing, assessments may help you identify knowledge gaps and determine where to focus your AI upskilling efforts.

They may also help demonstrate efforts to support a “sufficient level of AI literacy,” particularly if they’re conducted before and after training. When scores improve, you may be able provide documentation of your AI literacy efforts. 

Learn more about skill assessments.

No matter the size of your organization, AI literacy is an organization-wide effort. To that end, don’t over-rely on the same few experts to achieve AI literacy. 

Consider augmenting their expertise with a board of leaders from different business units. Together, they’ll turn AI literacy into a cross-functional effort, training their teams, identifying risks and use cases, and sharing best practices.

If you don’t have sufficient internal legal or IT expertise to make informed decisions around AI risk and training, don’t be afraid to consult or recruit external experts. They can help you create an AI governance framework, build a culture of responsible AI, and implement AI literacy throughout your organization.

A community of practice may also encourage more people to become AI literate. Gather AI experts or champions who are passionate about technology and teaching others. This community of practice could facilitate meetings, projects, and learning opportunities for people across the organization.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to AI training that automatically ensures alignment with the Act. Instead, the Act says to develop AI literacy initiatives based on how your organization will use AI and your staff’s experience levels. 

In general, many employees need basic AI literacy, but anyone who develops AI systems may need more advanced training tailored to their responsibilities.

As you develop your upskilling strategy, consider aligning training with statutory requirements and business objectives. What do people need to know to work on critical projects, improve customer satisfaction, or achieve business goals? 

To kick off AI literacy in your organization, you can: 

• Demonstrate the value of AI literacy. Show employees how AI literacy connects to their goals and could potentially give them valuable career development opportunities.

• Provide time to learn. Finding time to learn is the top barrier to upskilling. Employees need time and support to learn new skills.

• Incorporate different learning modalities. Provide a mix of video content, hands-on labs, assessments, and live seminars to account for different learning styles and skill needs. 

• Foster a culture of learning. Encourage, recognize, and reward learning to make it part of everyday operations. 

If your organization already has an AI literacy program, you may already be a step ahead of many of your peers. It’s still worth taking the time to check that it meets the Act’s requirements and applicable guidelines, though. This gives you time to make any necessary adjustments before key enforcement milestones. 

Under the EU AI Act, certain organizations need to keep documentation demonstrating alignment with applicable obligations, depending on their role and the risk level of the AI systems involved. Authorities may consult these documents during supervisory activities.

That’s why it’s so important to start documenting your AI literacy efforts now as part of your broader governance program. While documentation alone does not ensure alignment with the Act, you may consider maintaining records of:

• Your AI governance framework or policies

• AI literacy trainings or initiatives

• Learning materials and initiatives (like courses, workshops, and webinars) provided to employees by job function

• Assessment or quiz results that show AI literacy training completion or knowledge development

As you roll out AI literacy initiatives, gather feedback from employees to determine what’s working and what isn’t. This will help you improve training and optimize future efforts. 

Continually assessing your AI literacy training can also help ensure training remains aligned with evolving EU AI requirements, tech developments, and organizational skill needs.

At the end of the day, AI literacy isn’t a one-and-done checkbox. It’s an ongoing process. 

If you’re looking to support EU AI Act readiness while strengthening AI capabilities, Pluralsight AI Academy offers structured, scalable AI skill development programs designed to help organizations build and measure AI skills at scale.

Pluralsight AI Academy offers:

• AI skill assessments to provide visibility of literacy levels, replacing assumed AI competence with objective insight

• 12 months of access to AI courses and labs to help skills keep pace with rapidly evolving AI capabilities and training, extending learning beyond a one-time event

• A structured curriculum spanning AI Literacy, Practical AI Application, AI Productivity, AI Strategy, and Agentic AI that provides role-based training across multiple teams’ responsibilities

• Live virtual seminars and code-along workshops to give teams practice applying AI skills to organizational use cases

Prepare your people for the EU AI Act while building AI capabilities that support meaningful business outcomes. Learn more about Pluralsight AI Academy.

*Note: EU AI Act requirements are evolving and subject to additional guidance and change. This content is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.