An employee wants AI to clean up a customer email. Another wants to summarize meeting notes. Someone else pastes a spreadsheet into a free tool because the deadline is close.
Without clear rules, each person has to decide what’s acceptable. A simple AI usage policy for your small business gives them a shared answer: which tools they can use, what information they can enter, and what needs a person’s approval.
If you’re deciding how to use AI in a small business, start with a short policy your team can actually use. Here’s what to put in it.
1. Name the approved tools and tasks
“Use AI responsibly” leaves too much open to interpretation. List the tools your business has approved, the account or plan employees should use, and the work each tool is approved to handle.
For example, if you approve ChatGPT for small business tasks such as drafting public marketing copy, specify the company account employees should use. Require separate approval before anyone uploads internal files. Approval for one task doesn’t automatically cover every use of that tool.
Keep the list somewhere employees can find it. Add a contact for requests so a useful new tool has a clear path to approval.
2. Explain what information can go in
Give employees examples from their daily work. “Confidential data” may mean little to someone trying to finish a proposal; “customer contact lists, payroll records, and unpublished pricing” is much clearer.
- Public information: Published website copy or a public product description may be appropriate for an approved tool.
- Internal information: Meeting notes, procedures, and draft plans need a tool and use case specifically approved for that information.
- Sensitive information: Passwords, financial account details, employee records, customer personal information, and confidential contracts should stay out unless your business has explicitly authorized that particular use and its protections.
For help identifying and handling customer or employee data, see the FTC’s guide to protecting personal information.
Don’t assume a paid subscription settles the question. Before approval, have the responsible person check the provider’s data use, retention, access settings, and terms for the specific plan. Removing names alone may leave enough detail to identify a person or client.
The FTC also explains why AI providers’ privacy and confidentiality commitments matter when businesses share information with their tools.
3. Set a human review rule people can follow
Decide who checks AI-assisted work before anyone relies on it. For a customer email, that could be the employee sending it. A proposal with pricing or contractual promises may need a manager’s approval.
Ask reviewers to check facts, dates, calculations, source material, tone, and any promises made on the company’s behalf. A polished paragraph still needs checking.
For example, if AI drafts an answer about your return policy, the reviewer should compare it with the current approved policy before sending it. When using an AI knowledge assistant, open the cited source when the answer affects an important decision.
Reserve hiring decisions, legal advice, financial commitments, and other consequential uses for a separate approval process. Your general writing-tool policy shouldn’t quietly authorize them.
4. Give the policy an owner
Assign one person to maintain the approved-tool list, answer questions, and coordinate with IT or outside advisers when needed. In a small business, that might be the owner or operations manager.
Also name the person employees should contact if they upload the wrong file or receive an answer that could cause a problem. Ask them to report it promptly, stop the affected activity, and avoid spreading the information further. The policy owner can coordinate the next steps.
For AI-created work, specify where reviewed versions belong and who maintains them. A useful procedure left in someone’s chat history won’t help the next employee.
A simple AI usage policy outline to adapt
Use this as a starting point, then fill in the actual tools, names, and approval steps for your business. It doesn’t establish compliance with industry or legal requirements.
Purpose: We use approved AI tools to help employees complete work while protecting company and customer information.
Approved use: Employees may use {tools and company accounts} for {approved tasks}. New tools or uses require approval from {name or role}.
Information: Public material may be used in approved tools. Internal or sensitive information requires specific authorization for the tool, information, and task. Never enter passwords or access credentials.
Review: The employee using AI must check its output before sharing or acting on it. {Types of work} also require review by {role}.
Responsibility: {Policy owner} maintains this policy. Save approved work in {shared location} and report mistakes or concerns promptly to {contact}.
Review date: Revisit this policy on {date} and whenever approved tools or business needs change.
Walk through one real example with your team
Before rolling out the policy, test it against an everyday task: “Can I upload these customer meeting notes to get a summary?” Employees should be able to identify the approved tool, decide whether the notes are allowed, and know who reviews the result.
If they can’t, revise the wording. For a deeper reference, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework offers voluntary guidance on managing AI risks.
A workable AI usage policy gives your team enough clarity to begin. Keep it accessible, answer the questions that come up, and update it as you learn how people use AI in your business.
Check your readiness before adding more tools
Your policy is one part of getting ready for AI. Use the BrightDocs AI Readiness Scorecard to help assess your next steps.
Get the AI Readiness Scorecard
About BrightDocs
BrightDocs.ai helps small business teams put their company knowledge to work.
We organize approved documents into a Knowledge Hub with an AI knowledge assistant.
Your team gets answers with source citations.
We manage setup, maintenance, and human support.
Learn more about BrightDocs.ai.