The Future of AI Literacy: 4 Best Practices to Comply with the EU AI Act

By Nikolaz Foucaud, Managing Director, Enterprise, Coursera

As the Managing Director for Coursera in Europe, the implementation of the EU AI Act strikes me as a potential "GDPR moment" for artificial intelligence. Formally adopted in 2024, this landmark legislation will transform how organizations develop, deploy, and use AI systems—just as GDPR fundamentally changed our approach to data privacy.

We're at a critical juncture where AI adoption is accelerating across Europe, which is home to over half of the top 20 nations in the Global Skills Report. With 86% of employers expecting AI technologies to transform their business by 2030, there's a significant opportunity at stake—one that goes far beyond mere compliance.

Organizations face a choice: view the AI Act's literacy requirements as a regulatory burden, or seize them as a chance to build lasting competitive advantage. Based on conversations that our team has had with leaders at Microsoft, Orange, and Schneider Electric, along with insights from legal and compliance experts, we've developed a comprehensive playbook to help organizations navigate this choice strategically.

Here are four key best practices for building an AI-literate workforce in line with the EU AI Act:

1. Establish AI Governance and Policies

Getting on the front foot with AI governance is essential. You'll need a dedicated cross-functional team that brings together business units, IT, legal, and HR to ensure AI literacy addresses both technical and human elements.

I've seen that executive sponsorship makes all the difference here. When leaders actively engage with AI learning rather than delegating it, it transforms the organization's approach. I encourage you to make this visible—have your executives showcase their own AI learning journey. This creates the psychological safety needed for employees to experiment and learn from failures.

Further reading: How to Bridge the Generative AI Skills Gap: Insights from Dow, Microsoft, and Vanderbilt University

2. Assess Needs and Risks

Before launching any AI literacy initiative, you must understand your current AI landscape. Map where AI is already in use—including the "shadow AI" that employees might be using without formal oversight. This inventory becomes your foundation for risk classification under the Act.

Across the world, cultural factors significantly impact AI adoption. Different regions and organizations approach AI with varying degrees of enthusiasm or caution. In Europe especially, we often see more conservative approaches compared to other markets. Addressing these cultural dimensions head-on is just as important as technical assessment.

3. Implement a Tiered, Risk-Based Approach to Training

The AI Act doesn't mandate a universal approach to literacy—it requires training appropriate to each person's function and experience. At Coursera, we partner with organisations to develop a cascading implementation strategy:

Start with your executive team, then develop your internal innovators and technical professionals, before rolling out baseline AI literacy to everyone. This creates momentum throughout your organization rather than attempting a "big bang" approach that often fails to gain traction.

Organizations who skip the leadership training step tend to struggle to build a compelling business case for widespread AI literacy. Top-down advocacy is essential for driving adoption at scale.

Further reading: Building High-Performing Teams through Targeted Training

4. Document, Track, and Measure Training Outcomes

One of the most challenging aspects of Article 4 is its ambiguity around what constitutes "sufficient" AI literacy. This uncertainty creates anxiety for many organizations, but I see it as an opportunity to define excellence on your own terms.

Beyond tracking completion metrics, the most forward-thinking organizations in our network are connecting training directly to business outcomes—from increased AI tool adoption to time savings and innovation breakthroughs. This approach transforms compliance from a cost center into a value driver.

From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

Organizations that approach the EU AI Act strategically—balancing compliance with capability building—will be the ones that thrive in this new regulatory landscape. The immediate urgency comes from compliance deadlines, but the lasting advantage will come from workforces that confidently navigate the AI landscape while leveraging these powerful technologies responsibly.

That's why we've developed this comprehensive playbook—to help organizations harness this moment as a catalyst for building AI capabilities that drive innovation and growth.

The question isn't whether you'll need an AI-literate workforce. It's how quickly and effectively you'll build one.