# What is an AI impact assessment?

> An AI impact assessment is a written check, before a high-risk system goes live, of who it affects and whether they can challenge its decision.

Source: https://meshin.co/glossary/ai-impact-assessment
Updated: 2026-10-02

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## Why it comes up

It comes up wherever an AI system's output changes the offer a real person gets. That includes a loan, a job interview, an insurance price or a public benefit. A board hears about it once a pilot nears launch and legal asks who reviewed fairness before customers saw it. Procurement teams increasingly expect a written answer rather than a verbal assurance, since the assessment itself is what a regulator can ask to see.

## What to do about it

Name the specific groups the system could disadvantage before launch. Use the actual decision it makes and who it makes it about. Write down the mitigation for each risk identified, and who checked that the mitigation actually works rather than just exists on paper. Before a customer's legal team asks, I flag which systems need this specific assessment inside the [AI readiness and risk assessment](/services/ai-readiness-and-risk-assessment).