What is my role?
The EU AI Act gives you duties according to the role you play around an AI system. Most organizations are deployers; some are also providers. The same organization can hold more than one role, even for the same system.
The roles
Provider
Develops an AI system, or has one developed, and places it on the market or puts it into service under its own name (Art. 3). Providers carry the heaviest duties, including conformity assessment for high-risk systems.
For example: A company that builds a CV-screening tool and sells it to employers.
Deployer
Uses an AI system under its own authority in the course of its work (Art. 3). Deployers must use the system as instructed, keep human oversight, and, for some high-risk uses, carry out a fundamental rights impact assessment.
For example: An employer that runs that CV-screening tool to shortlist candidates.
Importer
Placed in the EU, it puts on the market an AI system that carries the name of a provider established outside the EU (Art. 3), and must check the provider did its part.
For example: An EU reseller of an AI product made by a company in another country.
Distributor
Any other party in the supply chain that makes an AI system available on the market (Art. 3), with a duty to check the required marks and documents are present.
GPAI provider
The provider of a general-purpose AI model, such as a large language model many applications build on, with its own duties on documentation and, for the most capable models, systemic-risk controls (Arts. 53 to 55).
Why it matters here
When you register a system you tell AI Sentinel your role for it. That choice decides which duties the product raises, which documents it drafts, and which questions the assessment asks. If you are unsure, start as a deployer: it is the most common role and you can add the provider role later.