GuidanceGuidancev1.0.0

Intended purpose is the anchor of classification

Intended purpose determines whether a system is high-risk. That purpose is set not only by the technical documentation but also by the instructions for use, promotional materials, sales materials and statements by the provider. Reasonably foreseeable misuse falls by definition outside the intended purpose.

The official source remains authoritative. This is general information about obligations and not legal advice. See this object on the map

Address and citation

This object has an address of its own that is never renamed or reused. Store the identifier in your own file, not the title or the link.

Identifier: praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor
Payload hash (sha256): 8f7455feefe96374d1cb47b4dc57d2d947ef8ef83fd2cd04797cf00177b3eb33

Citation line

Praxikon, "Intended purpose is the anchor of classification", praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor@1.0.0, dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0), effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-14T00:00:00.000Z, sha256 8f7455feefe96374d1cb47b4dc57d2d947ef8ef83fd2cd04797cf00177b3eb33

Version: 1.0.0
Legal time (effective_at): 8 August 2026
Knowledge time (known_at): 8 August 2026
Closed on: Not closed
Topics: guidance

Review status: Placed against the official source (8 August 2026). Next check due by 4 February 2027. The check date is the knowledge date of this version; no later recheck has been recorded.

What this object links to

Every relation appears below as a path: from the source with its locator, through the conditions and exceptions of the object carrying the relation, to the consequence. A locator belongs to a statement in the data and not to a relation, so the source is the source anchor of the carrying object.

The obligation this hangs off

1 of 1 shown

The object belongs to this obligation. The source line it hangs off sits there.

Source
Official fact on this object, with its locator.
- Draft guidelines on the classification of high-risk AI systems
  Locator: Draft guidelines on high-risk AI classification (19 May 2026), General principles chapter, section II.2, paragraphs (10), (11) and (13)
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-draft-high-risk-classification-guidelines
  Open official source
Via
No condition or exception recorded on this object.
Consequence
- ObligationAnnex III: high-risk AI
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:obligation:annex-iii-high-risk

What this object is about

2 of 2 shown

The object is about this role. Undifferentiated: it does not follow that the duty rests on this role.

Source
Official fact on this object, with its locator.
- Draft guidelines on the classification of high-risk AI systems
  Locator: Draft guidelines on high-risk AI classification (19 May 2026), General principles chapter, section II.2, paragraphs (10), (11) and (13)
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-draft-high-risk-classification-guidelines
  Open official source
Via
No condition or exception recorded on this object.
Consequence
- ActorDeployer
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:deployer
- ActorProvider of an AI system
  praxikon:eu:ai-act:actor:provider

What this object states

Official fact

Attributable to a named primary source, with a locator. Where they differ, the official source prevails.

The draft guidelines of 19 May 2026 on the classification of high-risk AI, which are not binding, state in paragraph (10) that the intended purpose of an AI system plays an important role in its classification as high-risk, and that under Article 3(12) intended purpose is the use for which the provider intends the system, including the specific context and conditions of use, as specified in the instructions for use, promotional or sales materials, statements and technical documentation. Paragraph (11) of that draft adds that providers must clearly describe the envisaged use, including the system's functionalities, leaving no ambiguity as to scope and intended use. Paragraph (13) of these draft guidelines places the assessment with the provider, supervised by the competent market surveillance authorities.
- Locator: Draft guidelines on high-risk AI classification (19 May 2026), General principles chapter, section II.2, paragraphs (10), (11) and (13)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-draft-high-risk-classification-guidelinesOpen official source

Our interpretation

Our own reading. It can change without the law changing, and it is not the position of a supervisory authority.

Marketing is legal material here. What your website, sales deck or demo promises counts towards establishing the intended purpose, even if the technical documentation is more cautious. A gap between what the system does in practice and how its purpose is described will not protect you.
- Locator: Draft guidelines on high-risk AI classification (19 May 2026), General principles chapter, section II.2, paragraphs (10), (11) and (13)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-draft-high-risk-classification-guidelinesOpen official source

Recommended step

A practical step we consider appropriate. Not an obligation following from the Regulation.

Have one owner for the intended-purpose description and review the instructions for use, technical documentation, website, sales material and demo scripts against each other annually. Also describe explicitly which contexts and applications are and are not intended, and keep that wording identical across all channels.
- Locator: Draft guidelines on high-risk AI classification (19 May 2026), General principles chapter, section II.2, paragraphs (10), (11) and (13)praxikon:eu:ai-act:source:commission-draft-high-risk-classification-guidelinesOpen official source

When this applies

No condition recorded on this object.

When this does not apply

No exception recorded on this object.

Referring to this object

Citation block

Copy this reference into your advice, article or file. The identifier, the version and the hash keep the statement findable later, even once the dataset has moved on.

Reference

Praxikon, "Intended purpose is the anchor of classification",
praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor@1.0.0,
dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0 (schema 1.4.0),
effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z, known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z,
sha256 8f7455feefe96374d1cb47b4dc57d2d947ef8ef83fd2cd04797cf00177b3eb33,
https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/guidance/guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor
(https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Aguidance%3Aguidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en, accessed 2026-08-25)

Short form

praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor@1.0.0 (sha256 8f7455fe)

BibTeX

@misc{praxikon-eu-ai-act-guidance-guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor-1-0-0,
  author       = {{Praxikon}},
  title        = {Intended purpose is the anchor of classification},
  year         = {2026},
  version      = {1.0.0},
  number       = {praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor},
  howpublished = {AI Act Change \& Evidence Graph, dataset 2.1.0, schema 1.4.0},
  note         = {effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 8f7455feefe96374d1cb47b4dc57d2d947ef8ef83fd2cd04797cf00177b3eb33},
  url          = {https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/guidance/guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor},
  urldate      = {2026-08-25},
  language     = {en}
}

CSL JSON

[
  {
    "id": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor@1.0.0",
    "type": "dataset",
    "title": "Intended purpose is the anchor of classification",
    "container-title": "AI Act Change & Evidence Graph",
    "publisher": "Praxikon",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "number": "praxikon:eu:ai-act:guidance:guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor",
    "URL": "https://www.praxikon.com/en/verkenner/guidance/guidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor",
    "language": "en",
    "issued": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          8
        ]
      ]
    },
    "accessed": {
      "date-parts": [
        [
          2026,
          8,
          25
        ]
      ]
    },
    "note": "dataset praxikon:sys:registry:dataset:ai-act-implementation-graph 2.1.0; schema 1.4.0; effective_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; known_at 2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z; sha256 8f7455feefe96374d1cb47b4dc57d2d947ef8ef83fd2cd04797cf00177b3eb33; retrieved_from https://www.praxikon.com/api/v1/entities?id=praxikon%3Aeu%3Aai-act%3Aguidance%3Aguidance-high-risk-intended-purpose-is-the-anchor&effective_at=2026-08-08&known_at=2026-08-08&lang=en; licence https://www.praxikon.com/nl/legal/terms"
  }
]

How to verify a reference later is set out in the methodology. Terms

For agents and integrations

This page and the machine output come from the same object and the same two time axes.

Open as JSON Open as JSON-LD Read the methodology