--- name: "NIST ITL — International AI Standards Landscape" description: "NIST Information Technology Laboratory's tracking of the global AI standards landscape — an inventory/meta-source, not a standard itself." keywords: "NIST ITL, AI standards landscape, international AI standards, AI standards inventory, Zero Drafts pilot, NIST AI 300-1, AI Agent Standards Initiative, CAISI, standards gap analysis" type: reference source_id: nist_itl_landscape source_url: "https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/nist-information-technology-laboratory-itl-ai-program" about_type: CreativeWork about_identifier: "NIST ITL AI standards programme" about_jurisdiction: "United States" last_observed_at: "2026-09-05T00:00:00Z" last_observed_commit_or_version: "ITL AI Program; latest landscape briefing: AI Standards Landscape webinar 2026-03-06; AI Standards page items 2026: standards-effectiveness methodology report 2026-01-15, CAISI AI Agent Standards Initiative 2026-02-17, Zero Draft NIST AI 300-1 ipd 2026-07-29/30 (comments to 2026-09-16)" provenance_chain: - timestamp: "2026-09-05T00:00:00Z" pr: "manual refresh (September 2026)" change: editorial - timestamp: "2026-06-16T00:00:00Z" pr: "baseline (manual)" change: baseline --- # NIST ITL — International AI Standards Landscape !!! info "Provenance & licence" **Source:** [NIST ITL AI Program](https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/nist-information-technology-laboratory-itl-ai-program) · **Last observed:** `2026-09-05` · **Version:** latest briefing — ITL AI Standards Landscape webinar (2026-03-06) · **Status:** planned · **Licence:** U.S. Government work — public domain (`public-domain`) ## Summary This entry tracks the **NIST Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) AI Program**'s view of the **international AI standards landscape** — its role, priorities, and progress. Unlike the other pages here, it is not a single standard but a **meta-source / inventory**: it maps how the major standards bodies (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42, IEEE, CEN-CENELEC, and others) and frameworks fit together, and where the gaps and emerging work are. NIST ITL summarised the current state in its **AI Standards Landscape webinar on 6 March 2026**. Watching this source is how the library notices *new* standards worth adding before they are widely known. ## In plain language !!! note "Our explanation, not the official text" Plain-language summary in our own words. NIST material is U.S. Government work (public domain). Not legal advice. This isn't a standard — it's NIST's map of *all* the AI standards and where the gaps are. We track it as an early-warning radar: when a new standard or evaluation method appears, this is usually where it surfaces first, telling us what to add to the library next. ## Key terms - **Standards landscape** — the overall inventory of who is publishing what across AI standards bodies. - **ISO/IEC SC 42** — the subcommittee that writes the AI standards (42001, 23894, etc.). - **Meta-source** — a source *about* other sources, used here to spot what to watch next. ## In depth (in our own words) !!! note "Our explanation" Our own-words explanation. NIST material is a U.S. Government work (public domain). Not legal advice. **It's a map, not a standard.** Every other page in this library is a standard, framework or regulation you can be measured against. This one is different: it is NIST's *view of the whole field* — which bodies are writing which AI standards, how they relate, where they overlap, and where the gaps are. You don't "comply" with a landscape; you use it to navigate. **Who is on the map.** The international AI-standards ecosystem is crowded: **ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42** (the home of ISO/IEC 42001, 23894, 42005, 42006 and more), **IEEE**, **CEN-CENELEC** (which underpins the harmonised standards the EU AI Act will lean on), plus NIST's own measurement, evaluation and testing work and its AI-agent standards activity. NIST ITL tracks how these pieces fit and where the priorities are heading — currently evaluation/testing, generative AI and agentic systems. **Why we watch it.** For a "watch" library this is the early-warning radar. New standards, profiles and evaluation methods tend to surface in this landscape view before they're widely known. Tracking it is how we decide *what to add next* and how we make sure the standards already in the library haven't been superseded. **How to use it in an engagement.** Practically, it answers two auditor questions: "Is there a recognised standard for *this* AI concern?" and "Are the standards my client relies on still the current ones?" Use it as the index that points you to the right standard — then audit against that standard, not against the landscape itself. ## Key Sections - **[ITL's role](https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/itl-ai-engagement "How NIST's Information Technology Laboratory contributes to and coordinates international AI standards work.")** — NIST ITL's contribution to and coordination of AI standards. - **[The landscape](https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/nist-information-technology-laboratory-itl-ai-program "The inventory of active and emerging AI standards across the major bodies — ISO/IEC SC 42, IEEE, CEN-CENELEC and others — and how they relate.")** — the inventory of active and emerging AI standards across bodies. - **Priorities**{ title="The areas NIST ITL is currently focusing its AI-standards effort on — evaluation and testing methods, generative AI and agentic systems." } — where NIST is focusing (evaluation, testing, agentic AI, GenAI). - **Progress**{ title="The current status of in-flight AI standards and profiles NIST ITL is tracking or contributing to." } — status of in-flight standards and profiles. - **Watch items without a publication**{ title="Two NIST work items that appear in the standards landscape but had no citable document at the observation date: the COSAiS control overlays for securing AI systems (SP 800-53-based) and the AI RMF Profile on Trustworthy AI in Critical Infrastructure (concept note only)." } — COSAiS overlays and the critical-infrastructure RMF profile: no citable document yet; check the ITL programme page by hand. - **[Zero Drafts pilot — NIST AI 300-1 ipd (Jul 2026)](https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/ai-standards "NIST AI Standards page: on 29 July 2026 NIST released the initial public draft of guidance and templates for public-facing AI documentation (NIST AI 300-1 ipd) under the AI Standards Zero Drafts pilot, comments to 16 September 2026; the page also lists the 6 March 2026 landscape webinar and a 15 January 2026 report on measuring the effectiveness of AI standards development.")** — the first Zero Draft to reach public-draft stage; a signal of which standards NIST wants to seed in SDOs. - **[AI Agent Standards Initiative (2026-02-17)](https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/02/announcing-ai-agent-standards-initiative-interoperable-and-secure "CAISI-led initiative on AI agent standards, protocols, security and identity — the newest entry in the landscape.")** — the agentic strand of the landscape, run by CAISI. ## Audit-Relevant Anchors - **Standards inventory**{ title="The government-maintained NIST ITL map of which AI standard applies to which concern — a defensible reference for scoping an audit." } — a defensible, government-maintained map of which standard applies to which AI concern. - **Gap signals**{ title="Early warning, surfaced in the landscape view, of emerging AI standards and evaluation methods an auditor should start tracking." } — early warning of emerging standards an auditor should start tracking. - **Cross-references**{ title="Pointers from the landscape into the specific standards an auditor then assesses against — NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001/23894 and agentic-AI work." } — pointers from the landscape into [NIST AI RMF](reference_nist_ai_rmf.md), [ISO/IEC 42001](reference_iso_42001.md)/[23894](reference_iso_23894.md), and [agentic-AI work](reference_csa_agentic_profile.md). ## Auditor Checklist This is a meta-source; the checks are about keeping the *rest* of the library current: - [ ] The organisation tracks an authoritative standards inventory, not an ad-hoc list. - [ ] The standards it relies on are still current (no superseded editions in use). - [ ] Emerging standards (agentic, GenAI evaluation) are on a watch list. - [ ] Each material AI-risk concern maps to an applicable standard. ## Cross-Framework Mapping A landscape "where it points" map (not a control crosswalk): | Landscape area | Points to | | -------------- | --------- | | AI management systems | [ISO/IEC 42001](reference_iso_42001.md), [ISO/IEC 23894](reference_iso_23894.md) | | Risk framework | [NIST AI RMF](reference_nist_ai_rmf.md), [GenAI Profile (600-1)](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.600-1.pdf) | | Evaluation / testing | [NIST evaluation work](https://airc.nist.gov/), ISO/IEC TR 24029 | | Agentic / GenAI security | [CSA Agentic Profile](reference_csa_agentic_profile.md), [OWASP GenAI/Agentic](https://genai.owasp.org/) | ## Recent Changes (rolling, last 5) | Date | Severity | What changed | | ---- | -------- | ------------ | | `2026-09-05` | substantive | Re-observed; no newer landscape briefing than the 2026-03-06 webinar. Added from NIST's AI Standards page: the **Zero Draft NIST AI 300-1 ipd** on public-facing AI documentation (2026-07-29, comments to 2026-09-16), the **CAISI AI Agent Standards Initiative** (2026-02-17) and the report on measuring AI-standards effectiveness (2026-01-15). Two items remain on watch without a publication: NIST's **COSAiS** control overlays for securing AI systems and the **AI RMF profile for critical infrastructure** (concept note 2026-04-07; see the AI RMF page). The **AI RMF revision** announced under the AI Action Plan will reshape the landscape when it lands. | | `2026-06-16` | baseline | Initial baseline: ITL AI program landscape, anchored to the 2026-03-06 AI Standards Landscape webinar. | ## Sources Public web sources only — local/private provenance is kept in a private mirror. - **Primary (web):** [NIST ITL AI Program](https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/nist-information-technology-laboratory-itl-ai-program) · [ITL AI engagement](https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/itl-ai-engagement) - **Update 2026-09-05 (2):** [NIST — AI Standards](https://www.nist.gov/artificial-intelligence/ai-standards) · [NIST — AI Agent Standards Initiative](https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2026/02/announcing-ai-agent-standards-initiative-interoperable-and-secure) · [NIST AI 300-1 ipd (PDF)](https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ai/NIST.AI.300-1.ipd.pdf) — retrieved 2026-09-05.