There is no legal deadline for the answer a software supplier gives you about AI features in a product or service. In practice, the processing time varies widely: from a few days with a supplier who has received the question before, to several months with a supplier who still needs to find out internally what is actually in the product. The most important factor is not the scope of your question, but how much the supplier already knows about the AI components of their own product.
That uncertainty is frustrating for many entrepreneurs, but understandable. Software is often assembled from components from multiple parties: a language model from one provider, a cloud platform from another, and a layer of custom work from the supplier itself. So the person you ask is often not the one who has the answer readily available.
What determines the processing time in practice
Three things generally determine how quickly you get a useful answer. First, whether the supplier already has a contact point for questions about the AI Regulation, or whether the question is coming in for the first time and needs to be investigated internally. Second, whether it is standard software delivered to many customers, or custom work where no one else has asked the same question before. Third, whether the AI feature has been developed by the supplier itself, or is purchased from a third party who in turn needs to be consulted.
The further the actual knowledge of the answer is from you in that chain, the longer it takes before you get something you can work with. This is especially true for international suppliers, where a question from a Dutch customer first passes through the local organization before it reaches a legal or technical department abroad.
Where the conversation often gets stuck
In practice, the conversation usually does not get stuck due to unwillingness, but due to lack of clarity. A supplier often knows what their product does, but not always how that relates to the concepts in the AI Regulation. A second stumbling block is that the question ends up in the wrong department: an account manager usually cannot provide a legally substantiated answer, while the legal department does not know the technical details of the product.
A third reason for delay is that you and the supplier sometimes talk past each other. A supplier who answers that the product "is not AI" sometimes means something different by that than the definition used in the Regulation. That difference in language takes time to straighten out, and is precisely the reason why it is useful to know in advance which concepts are involved. the concepts explained clearly by subject provides a starting point for that, so that you and your supplier speak the same language.
What you can do yourself to speed it up
A concrete, written question almost always produces a useful answer faster than a general question or "do you use AI". Ask specifically about the purpose of the feature, whether there is automated decision-making, and whether a human checks the outcome before it is used. Also ask whether the supplier itself uses third-party components, and if so, which ones.
It also helps to be clear beforehand about what role you use the product in, and what is actually at stake for your organization. If you haven't worked that out yet, you can get a first indication in a few questions of what the conversation with the supplier should be about. That saves time on both sides of the table.
When you should expect a longer processing time
Expect a longer processing time once multiple countries or multiple suppliers are involved in the chain, or once the supplier itself still needs to determine how its product relates to the regulation. The latter happens more often than you might expect, even with larger parties. Frequently asked questions and answers about these kinds of situations are compiled in the frequently asked questions on this topic, as a supplement to the conversation you conduct yourself.
Your own role remains leading
What the supplier tells you is a building block, not a final judgment. The assessment of whether and how the AI Regulation applies to your own situation remains your responsibility and, where necessary, that of a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority. Elektropas.com helps you ask the right questions and keep the information traceable; how we compile that information and where it comes from, you can read on the page about our working method.
Do you want to first get clear on exactly where you stand before you start the conversation with your supplier? The free quick-scan gives you a first indication of that in a couple of minutes, without needing an account for it.