SOC 2 & AI Compliance
Understand how SOC 2 applies to AI systems and how organizations can strengthen security, availability, confidentiality, processing integrity, and privacy when adopting AI.
What Is SOC 2?
SOC 2 is an attestation framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for evaluating how service organizations manage customer data and maintain effective controls over their systems.
Rather than prescribing a fixed set of technical controls, SOC 2 evaluates whether an organization's controls are appropriately designed and, for Type II reports, operate effectively over time. Organizations are assessed against the Trust Services Criteria (TSC), which cover Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy. Security is mandatory in every SOC 2 examination, while the remaining criteria are included based on the organization's services and commitments.
As AI becomes integrated into enterprise applications and workflows, organizations increasingly need to demonstrate that AI systems operate within the same governance, security, and monitoring practices that support their broader SOC 2 controls.
What Does SOC 2 Require?
SOC 2 evaluates controls against the AICPA's Trust Services Criteria. While Security is mandatory, organizations may also include Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy depending on the services they provide and the commitments they make to customers.
Security
Protect systems against unauthorized access through governance, logical access controls, monitoring, risk management, change management, and incident response.
Availability
Ensure systems remain available for operation through resilience, disaster recovery, capacity planning, and business continuity processes.
Processing Integrity
Ensure system processing is complete, valid, accurate, timely, and authorized.
Confidentiality
Protect confidential business information throughout its lifecycle using appropriate access controls and safeguards.
Privacy
Govern the collection, use, retention, disclosure, and disposal of personal information in accordance with organizational commitments.
SOC 2 at a Glance
Get a quick overview of SOC 2, including its Trust Services Criteria, report types, and applicability to service organizations. See how SOC 2 evaluates the controls that support secure, reliable, and trustworthy AI services.
SOC 2 reports are commonly used by SaaS providers, cloud platforms, managed service providers, and other organizations that process or store customer information.
Who Should Consider SOC 2?
SOC 2 is particularly relevant for organizations that store, process, or manage customer data and need to demonstrate the effectiveness of their security and operational controls.
SaaS Companies
Organizations delivering cloud-based software and AI-powered applications.
AI Platform Providers
Organizations offering AI models, copilots, agents, APIs, or AI services.
Cloud & Managed Service Providers
Organizations responsible for hosting, infrastructure, or managed technology services.
Enterprise Software Vendors
Organizations integrating AI into business-critical platforms and workflows.
Organizations Handling Sensitive Data
Businesses processing customer, financial, healthcare, or confidential information.
SOC 2 Readiness Checklist
How SOC 2 Fits Into the AI Compliance Landscape
SOC 2 complements other AI governance and security frameworks by focusing on operational controls and independent assurance.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 establishes an Information Security Management System (ISMS), while SOC 2 evaluates whether security controls are appropriately designed and operating effectively.
ISO/IEC 42001
ISO/IEC 42001 establishes an AI Management System (AIMS), while SOC 2 provides assurance that operational controls supporting AI services are functioning effectively.
NIST AI Risk Management Framework
NIST AI RMF provides guidance for identifying and managing AI risks. SOC 2 complements this by evaluating the operational controls that support secure and trustworthy AI services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Official Resources
For authoritative information about SOC 2, refer to the official sources: