Standard comparison
ISO/IEC 42001 vs ISO 23894
One is a certifiable AI management system; the other is guidance for AI risk management. They're designed to work together — ISO/IEC 23894 informs the risk process inside an ISO/IEC 42001 AIMS. Here's how they compare.
The short version
- ISO/IEC 23894 is guidance for AI risk management (built on ISO 31000); ISO/IEC 42001 is a certifiable AI management-system standard.
- 23894 tells you how to do AI risk management in depth; 42001 requires you to have a risk process — and everything else — and lets you certify it.
- You can't be certified to 23894; you can be certified to 42001.
- Use 23894 to strengthen the risk clauses of your 42001 system.
Side by side
How they compare
| ISO/IEC 23894 | ISO/IEC 42001 | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Guidance — not certifiable | Requirements — certifiable |
| Scope | AI risk-management method | Full AI management system |
| Based on | ISO 31000 risk management | Annex SL management-system structure |
| Published | 2023 | 2023 |
| Certification | None | Accredited third party (Stage 1 + Stage 2) |
| Output | A robust AI risk process | A certifiable AIMS incl. risk, controls, audit, review |
Where ISO/IEC 42001 goes further
What the standard adds over the guidance
A whole management system
42001 covers context, leadership, support, operation, monitoring and improvement — not just risk.
Certifiable
23894 is guidance you can't be certified against; 42001 offers accredited certification.
Controls & SoA
42001 adds the Annex A controls and a Statement of Applicability that 23894 does not.
Better together
23894 deepens the risk process in a 42001 system
They're complementary by design. ISO/IEC 42001 requires an AI risk-assessment and treatment process (clauses 6 and 8); ISO/IEC 23894 gives you the detailed, ISO 31000-based method to do that well. Use 23894 to enrich the risk methodology inside your 42001 AIMS — the guidance deepens the process, the management system makes it certifiable.
Questions
ISO/IEC 42001 vs ISO 23894 — quick answers
Can we get certified to ISO 23894?
No — it's guidance. ISO/IEC 42001 is the certifiable standard; 23894 strengthens its risk process.
Do we need both?
42001 is the destination if you want a certifiable system; 23894 is a valuable reference to make your AI risk management rigorous within it.
How do they fit together?
23894 informs how you assess and treat AI risk; 42001 requires that process and wraps it in a full, auditable management system.
Make your AI risk management certifiable
The toolkit builds a certifiable ISO/IEC 42001 AIMS with a rigorous risk methodology you can deepen with ISO/IEC 23894.