Article 4 of the EU AI Act requires organisations that develop or use AI to take measures so that their staff have a sufficient level of AI literacy for the way they use AI. The requirement has applied since 2 February 2025.
The requirement applies to everyone who uses AI professionally. That includes the organisation where employees use ChatGPT or Copilot for emails and notes. The level must reflect each person's technical knowledge, experience and education and the context in which AI is used. A lawyer who uses AI to review contracts needs different skills from a communications officer who uses it for drafts.
The regulation does not require a certificate, a specific programme or an AI officer. Nor does the organisation have to guarantee a particular level for each individual. It must be able to show that it has made an effort. An overview of training, guidance and guidelines is a practical way to document it.
In practice
Start by mapping who uses which tools for which tasks. Then use the AI role atlas to distinguish between tasks with low and high consequences. Employees who handle high-consequence tasks need more training than those who use AI for generating ideas.
The competency itself is described under AI literacy. The remaining requirements are covered in my guide to the EU AI Act.
The concepts in this glossary run through my AI courses and workshops, where we work with them on your own tasks.