What is the NIST Generative AI Profile?

Why generative AI needs its own profile

Generative AI introduces risks that are distinctive: the production of false or misleading content, the generation of harmful or unsafe outputs, the potential for misuse at scale, intellectual property and data provenance concerns, and the difficulty of predicting what an open-ended generative system will produce. The general RMF gives you the four-function method, but the generative profile fills in what those functions should pay attention to when the system is generative.

What the profile provides

The Generative AI Profile maps a set of risks specific to generative AI and suggests actions to address them, organised so they connect back to the RMF's functions. In practice it gives organisations a focused list of the generative-specific risks to consider and concrete steps to manage them, rather than leaving them to work this out from the general framework alone. It is a way to apply the RMF well to a generative system.

How it fits the wider framework

The profile is an example of the RMF's profile mechanism, which tailors the framework to a context. Just as an organisation might build a sector profile, NIST built a generative profile because generative AI is widespread and its risks are distinctive enough to warrant dedicated guidance. You use it alongside the core RMF: the four functions remain the method, and the profile sharpens how you apply them to generative systems.

Who should use it

Any organisation building or deploying generative AI benefits from the profile. If your product generates content, or you have integrated a foundation model into your operations, the profile helps you identify the risks that matter for generative systems specifically and manage them deliberately. It is especially useful for teams that have adopted the RMF generally but want to handle their generative systems with the extra care those systems require.

Connecting it to obligations elsewhere

The generative profile also helps with binding obligations. Generative and general-purpose AI carry specific duties under laws such as the EU AI Act, and the risks the profile addresses (such as content provenance and harmful outputs) overlap with what those laws care about. Using the profile to manage generative risk well therefore also helps you meet the substance of obligations that apply to generative and general-purpose systems.

Key terms

Generative AI

AI systems that produce open-ended content such as text, images, audio, or code.

NIST Generative AI Profile

A NIST companion to the AI RMF (AI 600-1) that tailors its guidance to generative AI risks.

Foundation model

A large general-purpose model that underpins many downstream generative applications.

Provenance

The traceable origin of data or content, including how generative outputs were produced.

References

• NIST Generative AI Profile (AI 600-1)
• NIST AI RMF Core and Playbook