Comparison

GDPR vs the EU AI Act — data protection or AI governance?

GDPR guide EU AI Act guide

Published Reviewed

GDPR governs personal-data processing. The AI Act governs AI roles, systems, models, and risk. Neither displaces the other.

Side by side

Dimension GDPR EU AI Act
Trigger Processing personal data. Providing, importing, distributing or deploying AI in scope.
Core assessment Purpose, legal basis, necessity, rights, security and transfers. Role, prohibited practice, risk class, transparency, documentation and oversight.
Human control Automated-decision safeguards and data-subject rights. Human oversight calibrated to the AI role and risk.
Evidence Processing records, DPIAs, notices, contracts and incidents. AI inventory, classification, technical records, logs and monitoring.

How they combine

Run one joined inventory but two legal analyses. An employment AI tool can be high-risk under the AI Act and process personal data under GDPR; satisfying its AI documentation does not establish a lawful basis.

A quick self-check

Are you ready?

  • Can every AI use be linked to its personal-data processing record?
  • Are the AI role and GDPR role assessed separately?
  • Can one incident path serve both regimes without collapsing their triggers?
GDPR The EU framework for protecting personal data and governing how organisations process it. EU AI Act A risk-based EU framework for organisations that provide, deploy, import or distribute AI systems.

This comparison is general information about public law and standards, not legal advice, and does not create a client relationship. Rules change and apply differently by situation. Verify the current official sources and seek qualified advice where needed.