Calibrate Your Business

AI acceptable use policy template for small business

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By Karim Nassar. . Free. No email, no sign-up.

AI acceptable use policy

[Business name]. Effective [date]. Owner: [owner name].

1. Why this exists

[Business name] uses AI tools to save time on routine work. This page says which tools you may use, what never goes into them, and who to ask when you are unsure.

2. Who it covers

Everyone who works for [Business name], including part-time staff, contractors and family members who help out. It covers any AI tool used for work, on a work device or a personal one.

3. Tools you may use

Use only the tools on this list, on the business account, not a personal one:

  • [Tool 1 and the plan the business pays for]
  • [Tool 2 and plan]
  • [Tool 3 and plan]

4. What never goes into an AI tool

Unless [owner name] has said yes for a specific tool and task, do not paste, upload or dictate:

  • Customer or client personal details: names with contact details, addresses, account numbers
  • Payment card numbers, bank details, tax numbers or government IDs
  • Passwords, access codes and login links
  • Health, legal or HR records about any person
  • Signed contracts, pricing sheets or anything marked confidential

5. Check before you use the result

AI can be wrong and sound sure. Read everything it produces before it leaves the business. Check names, numbers, dates and any claim of fact. Anything sent to a customer, posted publicly or used to make a decision gets a human read first.

6. Say so when it matters

If a customer asks whether AI helped with their work, answer honestly. Where a contract, a platform or a client asks for AI use to be disclosed, disclose it.

7. When something goes wrong

If you pasted something you should not have, or an AI output went out with a mistake, tell [owner name] the same day. Reporting quickly is never the problem. Late reports are.

8. New tools and questions

Want to try a tool that is not on the list? Ask [owner name] first. This policy is reviewed on [date] and whenever the business changes its tools.

Rollout guide: five steps

  1. Find what is already happening. Ask your team which AI tools they use today and for what. Ask it as a question, not an inspection. You cannot write sensible rules for use you have not seen.
  2. Fill in the blanks. Name the tools you approve, the plan each one is on, and the person to ask. Cut any rule that does not fit your business. Add one for any data your work handles that the list misses.
  3. Check it with your own advisor. This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Adapt it with your own lawyer, insurer or industry body, especially if you handle health, financial or children's information, or work under a contract that restricts AI use.
  4. Walk the team through it. Fifteen minutes, in person or on a call. Go through section 4 with real examples from your week. Ask what is missing.
  5. Keep it alive. Put a review date on it. Look again when you add a tool, change a plan, or something goes wrong.

What this template does not do

It does not give legal advice, and it cannot know your contracts, your insurer's terms or the rules of your industry. Adapt it with your own advisor before you rely on it.

Questions people ask

Does my small business need an AI policy?

If anyone on your team uses AI tools for work, a short written policy helps. Without one, each person decides alone what is safe to paste in. A page that names the approved tools and the data that stays out settles most of it.

How long should an AI policy be?

For a small team, one page. People read short rules. Add detail only where your work needs it, such as client data or regulated records.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is a plain-language starting point. Adapt it with your own lawyer, insurer or industry body, especially if you handle health, financial or children's information.

Do I have to give you my email to get it?

No. Read it here, print it, or download the file. Nothing is collected.

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