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AI inventory for the EU AI Act: when a spreadsheet is enough, and when it is not

Updated 14 Oct 2026 · Disclosure: EURO AI Register and the EU AI Act Readiness Kit (an Excel workbook) are Unadhi products. Competitor facts below come only from their own public pages, read on 14 Oct 2026; each is linked in Sources. We did not log in, start trials or read paywalled material. No ratings, no reviews, no scores of our own.

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Short answer: For one or two AI tools, none of them high-risk, a spreadsheet with one row per system, its classification, the article and the date you decided is a fair record — even a paid competitor, CompliPath, says so on its own page, and Crux Digits calls a spreadsheet “a legitimate starting point”. A spreadsheet starts to break when the law changes under it (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 replaced Article 4 and moved the high-risk dates), when you need evidence linked to each duty, or when a customer asks you to show rather than tell. Free option either way: copy our column list below, or use EURO AI Register free for up to 10 AI systems.

Why this matters now (dates (source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689))

Your three honest options

Your own spreadsheetEU AI Act Readiness Kit (Excel)EURO AI Register (browser)
PriceFree$29 once, 14-day refundFree up to 10 systems; $19/month or $190/year unlimited
SetupYou design columns and rulesDrop-downs for role, Article 5 check, Annex III areas, transparency triggers; formula flags a starting pointFixed screening questions with the article behind each result
Dates and law changesYou track themObligations map with a “status today” column; rules checked 11 Oct 2026Duties by role with dates; members get rule updates and a monthly change note
EvidenceLinks you pasteRisk register, 90-day roadmap, AI literacy logEvidence log with file name, size and SHA-256 fingerprint
PolicyWrite your ownAI Literacy and Acceptable Use Policy template (Word)AI use policy generator based on the Kit's template
Best for1–2 tools, nothing high-riskTeams who live in ExcelTeams who want guided screening without uploading data

Free gift: the column list for your own AI inventory

Copy this header row into a new sheet. It mirrors what the Act and the Commission's literacy Q&A ask you to know.

System name | Vendor / model | What we use it for | Owner (person) | Our role (provider / deployer / importer / distributor) | Article 5 banned-practice check (date, result) | Annex III use? (yes/no, which) | Part of a regulated product (Annex I)? | Article 50 transparency trigger? (chatbot, generated content) | Starting-point tier | Article(s) relied on | Decision date | Decided by | Staff trained / guidance given (date, who) | Evidence link | Next review date

Rules of thumb: one row per system as used (the same tool for two purposes can be two rows), record who decided and when, and re-check every row when the law changes — as it did on 27 July 2026, when Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 entered into force.

Signs you have outgrown the spreadsheet

Start free: your AI inventory and Article 4 record in 10 minutes

Prefer Excel? The EU AI Act Readiness Kit is $29 with a 14-day refund (Unadhi product).

Frequently asked questions

Is a spreadsheet enough for an EU AI Act AI inventory?

For one or two AI systems that are not high-risk, yes: a spreadsheet with the classification, the article relied on and the decision date is a fair record. Paid vendor CompliPath and consultancy Crux Digits both say this on their own public pages, read on 14 Oct 2026.

What columns should an AI inventory have for the EU AI Act?

The Act sets no single template for deployers. Useful columns: system name, vendor, purpose, owner, your role, the Article 5 banned-practice check, Annex III and Annex I checks, Article 50 transparency trigger, decision and date, who decided, literacy measures taken, evidence link and next review date.

When have I outgrown a spreadsheet for AI Act records?

Signs include more than a handful of AI tools across teams with nobody sure the sheet is current, a customer or supervisor asking for the evidence behind a row, or a system that may touch hiring, credit, education or biometrics under Annex III. In that last case, also talk to a lawyer.

What does EURO AI Register cost compared with a spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet is free but you track rules and dates yourself. EURO AI Register is free for up to 10 AI systems, including the printable Article 4 literacy record; beyond that it is $19 a month or $190 a year flat, with unlimited systems. It adds screening questions with article references, duties by role with dates and an evidence log with file fingerprints.

Do I need a certificate to prove Article 4 AI literacy?

No. The European Commission's AI literacy Q&A says there is no need for a certificate; an internal record of trainings or guidance is enough. As replaced by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, Article 4 asks organisations to take measures to support staff AI literacy, not to guarantee a specific level for each person.

Not legal advice. EURO AI Register and the Readiness Kit are record-keeping aids, not proof of compliance, not an audit and not a conformity assessment; the AI Act has no organisation-wide seal a tool can give you. If a system may be banned or high-risk, have a qualified lawyer review it. Unadhi is not affiliated with the EU or any EU authority. Competitor prices and plans change; re-check their pricing pages before you decide. Spotted an error about any product on this page, including ours? Write to mininglife7@gmail.com and we correct it.

Sources

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Unadhi Guides are free, independent explainers. We correct errors as soon as we find them: write to mininglife7@gmail.com.