Prepare the evidence before you publish the self-assessment.

PROGRAM PATH

Use CSA's current level definitions.

CSA currently describes Level 1, Level 1 Valid-AI-ted, and Level 2. Level 1 is based on submitting the AI-CAIQ self-assessment. Valid-AI-ted adds automated validation. Level 2 requires both a third-party ISO/IEC 42001 certification and a Valid-AI-ted AI-CAIQ.

Do not call an internal readiness review a certification. Do not imply program acceptance before CSA has completed the applicable process.

BOUNDARY

Choose the AI service and provider role deliberately.

A useful submission has a named AI service, intended use, provider role, lifecycle boundary, models, vendors, deployment context, and control ownership. Broad company-wide claims are difficult to support when teams operate multiple AI systems with different providers and data flows.

Document inherited controls and customer responsibilities. Transparency about shared responsibility is more credible than claiming control over a supplier's environment.

EVIDENCE QUALITY

Grade support, not confidence.

Assign each material answer an evidence state. Proven has current, in-scope support and an accountable owner. Partial has support with a visible limitation. Missing has no adequate source and must not be upgraded through better wording.

Include effective dates, review dates, source owners, system versions, and exceptions. A polished document with no operating record behind it is not equivalent to implementation evidence.

• Current and in-scope source record
• Owner who can validate the claim
• Exception or limitation beside the answer
• Remediation owner and target date for every material gap

INTERNAL APPROVAL

Run the self-assessment through accountable reviewers.

Route technical claims to engineering or security owners, data-use claims to privacy and product owners, and contractual representations to the appropriate business and legal reviewers. Keep an approval trail and freeze the reviewed version.

Resolve conflicts between marketing language, trust-center content, contracts, and the AI-CAIQ response set before submission. Public claims should not outrun the evidence.

SUBMISSION HANDOFF

Separate preparation support from the CSA submission.

A preparation partner can organize records, map claims, identify gaps, draft bounded language, and coordinate internal approvals. The service provider remains responsible for its facts and for deciding whether and when to submit through CSA's process.

AssureDeck is independent. It is not a CSA auditor, does not issue a designation, and does not guarantee automated validation, registry acceptance, certification, or procurement approval.