Do I need SOC 2 for my AI app?

Last reviewed 2026-09-30Written by Jacob Masse, TrazTech Inc.

Only when customers ask for it, which usually starts with mid-size and enterprise buyers in North America. Before that, a recent penetration test, a security overview and honest questionnaire answers carry most early deals. A first SOC 2 Type 2 typically costs a small Canadian company tens of thousands of dollars all in and takes six to twelve months, so start when a pipeline of deals depends on it.

When it becomes necessary

• A buyer's contract or procurement requires it.
• Several deals stall on the same security review.
• You sell into regulated industries such as finance or health.

What to do before

Test the app, fix what is found, write down basic policies, and keep evidence. That work counts toward SOC 2 later. Costs and process are covered on GetSOC2.

What to show a buyer before you have SOC 2

When a buyer asks for SOC 2 and you do not have it, a credible bridge usually includes: a recent penetration test summary with the high findings fixed and retested; a security overview describing hosting, encryption, access control and backups; a list of subprocessors including AI providers; your incident response contact; and, if you have started, a letter from a firm confirming your SOC 2 readiness work and expected timeline. Many mid-size buyers accept this for a first contract with a clause requiring the report within a year.

For AI products, add a short description of how the AI feature handles customer data and whether it has been tested against the OWASP LLM Top 10. That answers the question buyers increasingly ask next, which SOC 2 alone does not.

Getting it checked

TrazTech offers vibe-coding QA and security review, listed from $2,000 CAD. Get at least one other quote on the same scope; the questions to ask a testing firm help compare them.

Related questions

• Can the report be used for SOC 2?
• What will a buyer ask?
• AI security assessment

Common questions