---
title: "Inference (AI Act sense)"
description: "The capability to derive outputs from input by learning from data or reasoning over encoded knowledge, rather than by executing rules people wrote."
canonical: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/inference-ai-act-sense
author: "Jorge García Aibar"
license: "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)"
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197
version: "0.5.0"
updated: 2026-09-24
---

# Inference (AI Act sense)

The capability to derive outputs from input by learning from data or reasoning over encoded knowledge, rather than by executing rules people wrote. The Commission treats it as the indispensable condition that separates an AI system from conventional software [1].

- Developed in: [ch. 11, EU AI Act Article 3(1) and the Commission guidelines](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/ai-defined#eu-ai-act-article-31-and-the-commission-guidelines)
- Chapters: [ch. 11, AI Defined](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/ai-defined)
- In the glossary chapter: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/glossary#t-inference-ai-act-sense

## Sources

[1] Commission Guidelines on the definition of an artificial intelligence system established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (C(2025) 5053 final; non-binding; seven elements of Art. 3(1), inference as the indispensable condition; exclusions). European Commission. 2025-02-06. https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/commission-publishes-guidelines-ai-system-definition-facilitate-first-ai-acts-rules-application (verified: primary)