ISO 42001 for AI companies
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is the first international management-system standard for artificial intelligence, an AI Management System (AIMS). It is to responsible AI what ISO 27001 is to information security: a certifiable way to show you govern AI systematically.
Why it matters for AI companies
As AI scrutiny grows and regulation like the EU AI Act takes effect, buyers and partners increasingly ask how you govern AI, not just how you secure data. ISO 42001 gives AI companies a recognized, auditable answer, and it pairs naturally with the security work you have already done.
What to focus on
Like ISO 27001, ISO 42001 is built on management clauses 4 to 10 (context, leadership, planning, support, operation, evaluation, and improvement), plus Annex A reference controls organized into nine control objectives covering areas such as AI policy, roles, data for AI, and lifecycle management.
ISO 42001 asks you to address data governance for AI, transparency, human oversight, and impact assessment for the people affected by your AI. These are the concerns AI buyers and regulators care about most.
ISO 42001 is a certifiable management standard; the NIST AI Risk Management Framework is a voluntary risk framework; the EU AI Act is law. They work together. On Keel, one crosswalked control library lets a control you implement count toward all of them where they map.
Do it once, not twice
Keel is built on one crosswalked control library, so a control you implement for ISO/IEC 42001 counts toward every other framework it satisfies. Add a second framework later and it mostly reuses this work. See the crosswalk explorer for the exact overlap.
Start free Check your readinessCommon questions
Is ISO 42001 the same as ISO 27001?
No. ISO 27001 manages information security; ISO/IEC 42001 manages AI. They share the same management-system structure, so they pair well, but they address different risks and are certified separately.
How does ISO 42001 relate to the EU AI Act and the NIST AI RMF?
ISO/IEC 42001 is a certifiable management standard, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework is a voluntary framework, and the EU AI Act is a regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689). ISO 42001 is a practical way to operationalize responsible-AI practices that also support the others.
Framework names are referenced factually for guidance. Keel is not affiliated with or endorsed by the bodies that publish them. See our legal and trademarks page.