AI Act • AI Governance • Risk Management

AI Risk Matrix

Prioritise AI systems by impact, likelihood, exposure, data sensitivity and control maturity.

Last updated4 May 2026
Update workflowWeekly monitoring, monthly edits
MethodOfficial sources + practical governance controls
Quick next step

Not sure where your AI use stands?

Run the free AI compliance checkup to get a practical readiness score, likely risk bucket, missing controls and next actions.

Interactive tool

AI Risk Matrix

Score a use case by impact, likelihood, data sensitivity, external exposure and control maturity. Use the output to prioritise your AI inventory.

Advertisement

Example AI risk matrix

Use the matrix below as a simple governance conversation starter. Higher impact and higher likelihood should move the use case toward more formal review, more evidence and stronger human oversight.

Low impact
Monitor
Medium impact
Review controls
High impact
Formal assessment
Critical impact
Escalate before launch

How to use the score

  1. Score every material AI use case in your AI inventory.
  2. Review high and critical bands first.
  3. Link each score to evidence: owner, data notes, vendor documents, testing, human oversight, monitoring and incident process.
  4. Re-score when the use case changes, expands to new users or starts using more sensitive data.
Advertisement

FAQ

Is a low score automatically compliant?

No. A low score only means the use case may be lower priority for governance review.

Should I use this instead of a formal risk assessment?

No. Use it to prioritise your inventory and decide which systems need deeper assessment.

How often should I rescore a use case?

At least during monthly governance review and whenever users, data, model, vendor or deployment scope changes.

Sources and review method

This page is written as general business guidance, not legal advice. It is maintained from official AI Act materials, European Commission / AI Office updates, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and practical AI governance controls.

Reviewed byAI Compliance Checkup Editorial Team
Review methodOfficial AI Act, European Commission, EUR-Lex and NIST sources
Last reviewed4 May 2026
Contactcontact@aicompliancecheckup.com