AI policy
A small business AI policy should not read like a legal manual. It should tell staff which tools are approved, what data can be used, what needs review, and where AI must not make the final decision.
Staff are already seeing AI tools in email, documents, search, customer platforms, and vendor products. If the business does not set clear rules, people will make their own guesses about what is safe.
The best policy is specific enough to guide behaviour and simple enough to use during real work.
The policy should explain approved tools, allowed use cases, restricted data, customer-facing outputs, review requirements, vendor risk, and who owns AI decisions inside the business.
The policy should include examples. Staff need to see the difference between safe drafting, risky data sharing, approved customer support, and decisions that still need a person.
A useful policy also names an owner. Someone needs to approve new tools, update the examples, and review issues when the business learns more.
AI policy is not a one-time document. New tools, integrations, staff habits, and customer-facing use cases will appear. A simple review cadence keeps the rules current without making governance heavy.
Practical checklist
