ISO/IEC 27001 vs SOC 2 vs ISO/IEC 42001: What AI Companies Actually Need (and Why)
If you’re building an AI product—especially one that touches customer data, hiring, finance, healthcare, or enterprise workflows—you will eventually get one (or more) of these questions:
- “Do you have a SOC 2?”
- “Are you ISO/IEC 27001 certified?”
- “What are you doing about AI governance and responsible AI?”
Increasingly, enterprise buyers, regulators, and partners are no longer satisfied with just security. They want proof that your company also manages data security, privacy, AI risk, ethics, and operational impact.
That’s where SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, and ISO/IEC 42001 come in.
They are not competitors. They solve different parts of the trust problem.
The Simple Mental Model
Think of them like this:
- SOC 2 → “Can we trust your operations?”
- ISO/IEC 27001 → “Can we trust your security management system?”
- ISO/IEC 42001 → “Can we trust your AI?”
Note: ISO/IEC 27001 covers 80-90% of SOC 2 controls. While most customers accept either standard as evidence of strong security governance, some enterprises do treat them as different trust artifacts. ISO/IEC 42001, on the other hand, are AI-risk focused.
Key Differences at a Glance
What They Have in Common
All three standards:
- Are used to build trust with enterprise customers
- Require formal policies, procedures, and controls
- Are risk-based, not checkbox exercises
- Require evidence, not just promises
- Involve independent auditors or certification bodies
- Force operational maturity across engineering, security, legal, and leadership
Where They Are Fundamentally Different
1. Scope: What Risk They Actually Cover
SOC 2
SOC 2 stands for System and Organization Controls 2, a framework developed by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) to help service organizations manage and protect customer data, ensuring it's handled securely according to five core Trust Services Criteria (TSC):
- Security (always required)
- Availability
- Confidentiality
- Processing integrity
- Privacy
SOC 2 answers: “Are your systems and processes secure and reliable?”
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO 27001 is the globally recognized standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continuously improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS), a systematic approach to managing sensitive company information to keep it secure with focus on:
- Governance
- Risk management
- Policies
- Asset management
- Access control
- Incident management
- Supplier security
- Business continuity
ISO/IEC 27001 answers: “Do you run a mature, auditable security management program?”
ISO/IEC 42001
ISO/IEC 42001 is the first international standard for establishing an Artificial Intelligence Management System (AIMS), providing a framework for organizations to responsibly design, develop, deploy, and use AI systems, with focus on AI-specific risks, including:
- Bias and fairness
- Safety and reliability
- Transparency and explainability
- Human oversight
- Data governance
- Model lifecycle management
- Monitoring, drift, and misuse
- Legal, ethical, and societal impacts
ISO/IEC 42001 answers: “Do you systematically govern how AI is designed, deployed, monitored, and controlled?”
2. Geography and Market Signaling
SOC 2
- De facto standard in North America
- Especially important for US enterprise SaaS buyers
ISO/IEC 27001
- Globally recognized
- Strong signal in Europe, APAC, and regulated industries
ISO/IEC 42001
- Emerging global standard for AI governance
- Increasingly relevant for: Regulated AI (HR, finance, healthcare, insurance); Companies selling into US, EU, UK, or regulated enterprises; Buyers worried about AI risk, not just data security
3. What do you get at the End
SOC 2 Type 2
- You get a detailed auditor report
- You will have to do the audit every year
ISO/IEC 27001
- You get a certification after stage 1 and stage 2 audit
- You will have to do survellience year 1 and year 2 audit to maintain certificate
ISO/IEC 42001
- You get a certification after stage 1 and stage 2 audit
- You will have to do survellience year 1 and year 2 audit to maintain certificate
The Big Misconception for AI Companies
“If we have SOC 2 or ISO/IEC 27001, we’re covered.”
You’re covered for security.
You are not covered for:
- Bias risk
- Model failure risk
- Hallucination risk
- Unsafe use cases
- Regulatory AI compliance
- Explainability and oversight
- AI-specific incident management
That’s exactly the gap ISO/IEC 42001 is designed to fill.
Which One Should an AI Company Get?
Ask yourself:
1. Who are your customers?
- US enterprises → You’ll almost certainly need SOC 2
- Global enterprises → You’ll almost certainly need ISO/IEC 27001
- Regulated or risk-sensitive buyers → You’ll increasingly be asked about AI governance
2. Do you build or deploy AI systems that impact people, decisions, or risk?
If yes:
- You will need AI governance, not just security
- That means ISO/IEC 42001, sooner or later
3. Do you want to sell “trust” as a product feature?
Then:
- SOC 2 proves operational trust
- ISO/IEC 27001 proves security governance maturity
- ISO/IEC 42001 proves responsible AI maturity
Do AI Companies Need All Three?
Increasingly: yes.
They cover three different risk layers:
| Layer | Standard | Operational trust | SOC 2 | Security governance | ISO/IEC 27001 | AI governance & responsible AI | ISO/IEC 42001 |
