How the EU’s General-Purpose AI Code of Practice can help SMEs in Regulated Industries?

Although the Code of Practice is aimed at general-purpose AI providers, SMEs that merely use such models can still leverage its voluntary framework to strengthen their own AI governance:

• Vendor Due Diligence & Contractual Leverage
  SMEs can require that any AI solution they purchase comes from a Code signatory. Because signatories commit to share up-to-date model documentation with “downstream providers,” you gain a clear contractual advantage: insist on the Code’s transparency measures as part of your procurement terms to ensure you get the information you need for compliance and audits.

• Enhanced Transparency & Audit Trails
  The Code’s Model Documentation Form lays out exactly what providers must disclose (e.g. training data sources, performance metrics, known limitations). By asking your vendors to supply that completed form, you build an audit trail that satisfies your own record-keeping obligations under the AI Act and any sectoral rules on automated decision-making 

• Plug-In Risk Management Templates
  Even if you’re not building models, you can adopt the Code’s Safety & Security practices—such as adversarial testing protocols and incident-response playbooks—to assess and monitor the systemic risks of the AI tools you deploy (e.g. in healthcare, finance, or critical infrastructure) 

• Copyright & Licensing Assurance
  The Code’s Copyright chapter provides concrete steps for lawful use of third-party material in training and inference. By verifying your provider follows those same steps—license checks, provenance tracking, takedown procedures—you secure your organization from IP-related liabilities.

Next Steps for mid sized enterprises in regulated industries

1. Map your AI landscape: List every third-party model in use today.

2. Update your RFPs & contracts: Add “Code signatory” and “Model Documentation Form” requirements.

3. Train your teams: Walk procurement, legal, and IT through the Code’s safety, transparency, and IP chapters.

4. Monitor & iterate: Use the Code’s templates as living documents.

   If questions arise as you integrate these practices, Safe AI Now offers specialist guidance and tools.