AI Governance Engineer
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Intended purpose

By Updated

The use for which the provider intends an AI system, including its specific context and conditions of use 1. Most high-risk duties are measured against it, so it is a field of the use-case record that classification, tests and instructions for use read. A model moved to a new purpose is, for risk, a new system.

Developed in
ch. 14, The use-case record
ch. 11, From definition element to registry field
Chapters
ch. 11, AI Defined · ch. 14, Development
Contrast with
Reasonably foreseeable misuse
Source
1 numbered reference, listed below

Where it is used

10 chapters of the Body of Knowledge use the term. Each link opens the first section that does.

Intended purpose: mentions per chapter51 mentions of the term across 10 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter08 Regulatory Map: 5 mentions08 Regulatory Map511 AI Defined: 6 mentions11 AI Defined612 Governance Program: 1 mention12 Governance Program113 Risk Management: 4 mentions13 Risk Management414 Development: 12 mentions14 Development1215 Deployment: 7 mentions15 Deployment717 Incidents: 1 mention17 Incidents118 EU AI Act: 10 mentions18 EU AI Act1022 Principles & Standards: 3 mentions22 Principles & Standards323 AI Agents: 2 mentions23 AI Agents2No mentions in the other 13 chaptersSource: the Body of Knowledgev0.5.0
Intended purpose: mentions per chapter51 mentions of the term across 10 of the 23 chapters of the Body of Knowledge; the chapters the glossary cross-references are drawn solid.Cross-referenced chapterOther chapter000102030405060708 Regulatory Map: 5 mentions5081011 AI Defined: 6 mentions61112 Governance Program: 1 mention11213 Risk Management: 4 mentions41314 Development: 12 mentions121415 Deployment: 7 mentions7151617 Incidents: 1 mention11718 EU AI Act: 10 mentions101819202122 Principles & Standards: 3 mentions32223 AI Agents: 2 mentions223Source: the Body of Knowledge v0.5.0
Mentions per chapter How often each chapter names the term, with the chapters the glossary cross-references drawn solid. The longest bar is where to read the term in use; bars spread across many chapters mark a term that runs through the discipline.
Mentions as a table
Mentions of Intended purpose per chapter
ChapterMentionsCross-referenced
00 Preface0No
01 Definition0No
02 Why Now0No
03 Values & Principles0No
04 The Stack0No
05 Patterns0No
06 The Role0No
07 Maturity Model0No
08 Regulatory Map5No
10 Reading List0No
11 AI Defined6Yes
12 Governance Program1No
13 Risk Management4No
14 Development12Yes
15 Deployment7No
16 Fairness & XAI0No
17 Incidents1No
18 EU AI Act10No
19 Privacy & AI0No
20 Existing Law0No
21 AI Laws Worldwide0No
22 Principles & Standards3No
23 AI Agents2No

Patterns that use this term

5 pattern pages use the term, most mentions first.

Intended purpose: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastColour: stack layer of the pattern01 Govern-as-Code02 Inventory05 AssuranceIntended purposeRelated terms (7)Adaptiveness · RelatedAdaptivenessClassification decision record · RelatedClassification decision recordHuman-in-command (HIC) · RelatedHuman-in-command (HIC)Human-in-the-loop (HITL) · RelatedHuman-in-the-loop (HITL)Human-on-the-loop (HOTL) · RelatedHuman-on-the-loop (HOTL)Testing in real-world conditions · RelatedTesting in real-world conditionsUse-case record · RelatedUse-case recordContrast with (1)Reasonably foreseeable misuse · ContrastReasonably foreseeable misusePatterns using it (5)Claims Substantiation Gate, 1 mention · Uses the termClaims Substantiation GateDataset Admission Gate, 1 mention · Uses the termDataset Admission GateDownstream Use Register, 2 mentions · Uses the termDownstream Use RegisterFRIA-as-Code, 2 mentions · Uses the termFRIA-as-CodeUse-Case Intake & Risk Tiering, 3 mentions · Uses the termUse-Case Intake & Risk Tiering
Intended purpose: related terms and patternsThe term at the centre; related terms on solid edges, the terms it is contrasted with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer.RelatedContrastColour: stack layer of the pattern01 Govern-as-Code02 Inventory05 AssuranceRelated terms (7)Adaptiveness · RelatedAdaptivenessClassification decision record · RelatedClassification decision recordHuman-in-command (HIC) · RelatedHuman-in-command (HIC)Human-in-the-loop (HITL) · RelatedHuman-in-the-loop (HITL)Human-on-the-loop (HOTL) · RelatedHuman-on-the-loop (HOTL)Testing in real-world conditions · RelatedTesting in real-world conditionsUse-case record · RelatedUse-case recordContrast with (1)Reasonably foreseeable misuse · ContrastReasonably foreseeable misusePatterns using it (5)Claims Substantiation Gate, 1 mention · Uses the termClaims Substantiation GateDataset Admission Gate, 1 mention · Uses the termDataset Admission GateDownstream Use Register, 2 mentions · Uses the termDownstream Use RegisterFRIA-as-Code, 2 mentions · Uses the termFRIA-as-CodeUse-Case Intake & Risk Tiering, 3 mentions · Uses the termUse-Case Intake & Risk TieringIntended purpose
The term's neighbourhood Terms related to this one on solid edges, terms it is often confused with on dashed edges, and the patterns that use it most in the colour of their layer. Follow a dashed edge to check the distinction before you use either term.
Neighbourhood as a table
Neighbourhood of Intended purpose
FamilyItemRelation
Related termsAdaptivenessRelated
Related termsClassification decision recordRelated
Related termsHuman-in-command (HIC)Related
Related termsHuman-in-the-loop (HITL)Related
Related termsHuman-on-the-loop (HOTL)Related
Related termsTesting in real-world conditionsRelated
Related termsUse-case recordRelated
Contrast withReasonably foreseeable misuseContrast
Patterns using itClaims Substantiation Gate, 1 mentionUses the term
Patterns using itDataset Admission Gate, 1 mentionUses the term
Patterns using itDownstream Use Register, 2 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using itFRIA-as-Code, 2 mentionsUses the term
Patterns using itUse-Case Intake & Risk Tiering, 3 mentionsUses the term
  • Adaptiveness

    The ability of an AI system to change its behaviour while in use, through learning after deployment; optional under the EU AI Act definition.

  • Human-in-command (HIC)

    The oversight mode, named by the EU High-Level Expert Group, in which people oversee the overall activity of an AI system and decide when and whether to use…

  • Human-in-the-loop (HITL)

    The oversight mode in which a person can intervene in every decision cycle of an AI system; in engineering terms, a gate that holds each consequential action…

  • Human-on-the-loop (HOTL)

    The oversight mode in which a person can intervene in the design cycle and monitors the system's operation, rather than approving each decision.

  • Use-case record

    The intake record for a proposed AI use: business context, intended purpose and the uses ruled out, affected persons, decision authority, success metrics and…

  • Testing in real-world conditions

    Under the EU AI Act, temporary testing of an AI system for its intended purpose outside a laboratory, under a plan approved by the market surveillance…

  • Classification decision record

    A versioned registry record of why a system sits on a given rung of the AI Act risk ladder: the Annex III point, any Article 6(3) condition relied on, an…

Sources

  1. [1] Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act), consolidated text as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI, in force 27 Jul 2026; definitions in Art. 3, incl. 3(1), 3(3) to 3(14), 3(14b), 3(20), 3(22), 3(23), 3(29) to 3(32), 3(49), 3(55) to 3(57), 3(60), 3(61), 3(63), 3(68); Arts. 4, 5, 6 (incl. 6(3) third subparagraph, profiling), 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 22 to 27 (incl. 26(11)), 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 50, 53 (incl. 53(1)(c)), 55, 57, 60, 72, 73, 86; Annexes I, III, IV). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2026-07-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng (verified: primary)

Definitions of legal terms paraphrase the cited text, which governs. Dated statements are as of .

Cite this term

García Aibar, J. (2026). Intended purpose. In AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis & Body of Knowledge (v0.5.0), Glossary. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197. https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/intended-purpose. CC BY 4.0

BibTeX

@misc{aige2026intendedpurpose,
  author  = {Jorge García Aibar},
  title   = {{Intended purpose}},
  note    = {Glossary, AI Governance Engineering: The Thesis \& Body of Knowledge, version 0.5.0},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.22956197},
  url     = {https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/intended-purpose}
}