How long does AI compliance take? Realistic timeline

Yes. The AI Act doesn't distinguish by company size, but by purpose and risk. Anyone with a chatbot on their website is affected — regardless of whether one or a hundred people work in the business.

For content that is published and synthetically generated or substantially modified, yes. Purely internal use — research, drafts, summaries — typically does not trigger this obligation.

Whenever a new tool is introduced or the purpose of an existing one changes. An annual review as a minimum interval makes sense, even without a specific trigger.

Not generally. It becomes necessary when the processing is likely to pose a high risk to data subjects — such as extensive profiling. For an FAQ chatbot on a website, it's usually not required. We review this case by case and document the result in writing.

Each tool is assessed individually — provider, data processing, and risk class differ. The usage policy summarizes the results so no one has to look up each tool separately.

In the free version without contractual safeguards: no. With a business account, data processing agreement, and training excluded, it may be permissible — depending on what data is involved. Precisely this distinction belongs in the usage policy, because it's constantly relevant in daily operations.

No, in case of dispute or audit, only what is documented counts. A brief written policy also protects new team members who never heard the verbal agreement.