# What is edge AI?

Official page: https://aitje.com/en/knowledge/wat-is-edge-ai

> Edge AI means that AI runs close to the source of the data, for example on a device, server or local network. This allows you to work faster and often gives you greater control over privacy, continuity and costs.

### In brief

With edge AI, you process data within or close to your own environment rather than sending everything to an external cloud. This can be done on the device itself, on a local server or on infrastructure within your own network. That is why edge AI is often also referred to as local AI.

### Why do organisations choose this?

The main reasons are speed, privacy, control over data and reduced reliance on external platforms. If a process needs to remain available at all times, or if sensitive information cannot simply be processed externally, edge AI often becomes an immediately attractive option.

### When does edge AI make sense?

Edge AI is particularly suitable for knowledge-based queries regarding internal documents, local assistants, production environments, healthcare settings or environments with unstable internet connections. Furthermore, where predictable costs and in-house infrastructure are important, running locally is often more attractive than a fully cloud-based approach.

### What do you need to organise in practice?

Local AI requires more than just hardware. You also need to consider updates, monitoring, access management, backups, logging and the question of which components are permitted to communicate externally and which are not. It is therefore an infrastructure choice with operational implications.

### Common misconception

Edge AI does not automatically mean that everything is better. Local deployment can offer many advantages, but it also requires management, technical decisions and clear boundaries. The right question is not whether the cloud is bad, but which part of a process belongs locally and which part may, if necessary, run externally.

## Contact

[Contact AITJE](https://aitje.com/en/contact) — contact@aitje.com