AI insight
How should a small business write an AI use policy?
Your staff are almost certainly using AI tools already. A short, plain policy decides whether that helps the business or exposes it. Here is what it should cover.
The short answer
Start with governance, not tools. A useful artificial intelligence (AI) use policy fits on two or three pages and answers six questions: who is accountable, which tools are approved, what information must never go into them, when a person must check the output, when clients must be told, and what to do when something goes wrong. Then train staff on it and review it twice a year.
Why governance comes first
AI assistants are now built into the email, office, and phone software most businesses already pay for. The risk is rarely the tool itself. It is information going where it should not, and output being trusted without a check. Without governance, even the most capable AI solution can drift beyond what it was approved to do. A policy is how an owner stays in charge of that.
The six things the policy should cover
- Accountability. Name one person who owns the policy, approves new tools, and answers questions. In a small business that is often the owner or the office manager.
- Approved tools. List the AI tools staff may use for work, and on which accounts. A business account usually gives you more control over your data than a personal one. Anything not on the list needs approval first.
- Information that never goes in. Be specific. Typical examples: client or patient information, employee records, passwords and account numbers, financial details that are not public, contracts, and anything covered by a confidentiality agreement.
- Human review. AI output is a draft. Say who must check it, and when, before it is sent to a client, filed, published, or used to make a decision about a person.
- Disclosure. Decide when clients should be told that AI helped produce a piece of work, and follow any client or contract requirements.
- When something goes wrong. Tell staff what to do if information is entered by mistake or an AI answer causes a problem: who to tell, and how quickly.
Putting it into practice
- Find out what is already in use before you write. Ask staff which tools they use and for what. The answer is usually more than owners expect.
- Keep it short and plain. A policy nobody reads protects nobody. Two or three pages in everyday language.
- Train, with real examples from your own work, including how to check an AI answer.
- Review it twice a year. The tools change quickly, and so should the approved list.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. If you work under specific rules, such as health privacy or client confidentiality requirements, have the policy reviewed against them.
Questions business owners ask
Does a small business really need an AI use policy?
If any employee uses an AI tool for work, yes. A short policy sets which tools are approved, what information must never be entered, and who checks the output, which protects clients, staff, and the business's reputation.
What should employees never put into an AI tool?
Client or patient information, employee records, passwords and account numbers, non-public financial details, contracts, and anything covered by a confidentiality agreement, unless the business has approved a specific tool and account for that purpose.
Can 618Today write our AI use policy?
Yes. 618Today reviews how staff are using AI today, writes a plain-language AI use policy, trains staff, and can evaluate AI products before you buy them, for businesses and organizations across Southern Illinois and the Metro East.