# How to Build an AIBOM (AI Bill of Materials): A Practical Guide

> An AIBOM inventories the models, data and software that make up an AI system. A step-by-step guide to building one, what to include, and the formats that make it useful.

Source: https://playciso.com/blog/how-to-build-an-aibom · Published: 2026-09-26 · Publisher: PlayCISO (https://playciso.com)

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"How do I build an AIBOM?" is the practical follow-up to understanding what one is. An AI Bill of Materials is just a structured inventory of everything your AI system is made of — models, data, software and their licences — but building a _useful_ one means being disciplined about what you capture and expressing it in a format a machine can check. Here is the process. ## Step 1 — Inventory the models For every model in the system, record: name, version, source or publisher, licence, and an integrity hash or signature. This is the core of an AIBOM and the part a plain SBOM misses — you need to be able to answer "which model, from where, under what licence, and can we prove it hasn't been tampered with?" ## Step 2 — Inventory the data Capture the training and fine-tuning datasets: source, licence, and sensitivity (does it contain PII or regulated data?). Data provenance is where a lot of AI legal and privacy risk lives, so even a partial record is valuable. ## Step 3 — Capture the surrounding software (SBOM) An AI system is still software. Generate an SBOM for the libraries and dependencies around the model so the AIBOM covers the conventional supply chain too — vulnerable dependencies are still one of the most common real-world risks. ## Step 4 — Record provenance and integrity Document where each component came from and how it was obtained, and attach hashes or signatures so integrity can be verified. This is what turns an inventory into a trust artifact. ## Step 5 — Use a machine-readable format Express the AIBOM in **CycloneDX** or **SPDX** — both support or are extending to AI/ML components — so it can be generated in your pipeline and validated automatically for banned licences, unknown provenance or known-vulnerable components. A static spreadsheet cannot do that. ## Step 6 — Keep it current Generate the AIBOM in your build/release pipeline so it matches what is actually deployed, and regenerate it on any model, data or dependency change. A stale AIBOM creates false confidence. Generate and inspect one now with the free [AIBOM generator →](/tools/aibom), start from a structure with the [AIBOM template](/tools/aibom-template), and see how it differs from related inventories in [SBOM vs AIBOM vs MLBOM](/blog/sbom-vs-aibom-vs-mlbom). ## Frequently asked questions **What is an AIBOM?** A machine-readable inventory of an AI system's models, data, software and licences — an SBOM extended to AI-specific components. **What should it include?** Models (name, version, source, licence, hash), datasets (source, licence, sensitivity), software dependencies, and provenance. **What format?** CycloneDX or SPDX, so it can be generated and validated automatically. **How do I keep it current?** Generate it in your pipeline and regenerate on any model/data/dependency change.