Much ink has been spilled on what the EU AI Act means for providers of high-risk systems. Less attention has gone to the deployer obligations that touch professional services firms directly.

Firms using AI in recruitment, in client risk scoring, or in matters affecting individuals' access to essential services should audit those uses now. Transparency duties and AI literacy expectations already apply.

There is also an advisory opportunity. Clients need counsel who understand both the legal text and the technical reality of model documentation, data governance and post-market monitoring.

The firms that will lead this practice area are those that have lived through their own compliance exercise first.