What is an AI system registry?
An AI system registry is the system of record that captures every AI system an organisation operates — with its business context, technical characteristics, risk classification, actor role, obligation mapping, evidence state, approval status, and governance lifecycle.
It is the foundation of AI governance because you cannot govern what you have not registered. Without a registry, systems exist in shadow, governance is fragmented, and the organisation cannot answer the most basic audit question: how many AI systems do you operate, and what is their compliance state?
Key points
- The registry is the entry point for the governance chain. Every AI system must be registered before it can be screened, classified, or approved.
- A registry is not an inventory spreadsheet. It is a structured system of record with governed fields, role-based access, and connected governance data.
- Each registry entry connects to the full governance record: screening results, obligation mapping, evidence state, approval history, and re-screening events.
- The registry must capture shadow AI: systems that are used but not formally governed. Discovery and registration of ungoverned systems is a governance activity in itself.
- The EU AI Act requires providers of high-risk systems to register in the EU database (Art. 49). The organisational registry is the internal counterpart that supports this obligation.
Why it matters
An organisation that cannot produce a complete, current list of its AI systems — with governance status for each — has a structural compliance gap before any individual system is assessed. The registry is the answer to the first question every auditor, regulator, and board member will ask: what AI systems do you have, and how are they governed?
How EAB approaches this
EAB's AI System Registry is the foundation of the platform. Every system gets a governed record from the moment of registration. The registry connects to screening, obligations, evidence, and approval. Portfolio-level visibility is provided through the Executive Cockpit. EAB also offers a free AI system registry as an entry point.