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AI acceptable use policy template for a small team

A plain AI acceptable use policy template for a 5 to 50 person team: approved tools, data rules and review, with the ten questions people will ask.

An AI acceptable use policy tells your team which AI tools they may use, what they may put into them and who checks the output. Keep it to one page so people read it before they paste something in.

A template with blanks, not legal advice. Rules on pay, leave and data vary by state, so check yours.

The template

Approved tools

  • Approved for work: [tool names and the account type, such as the company account].
  • Not approved: [tools or personal accounts].
  • To ask for a new tool, contact [person]. Reply within [time].

What may go in

  • Allowed: [public information, drafts with no names or numbers, your own notes].
  • Not allowed: [customer personal data, passwords, private company financials, unreleased plans, other people's confidential documents].
  • When unsure, ask [person] before you paste.

Checking the output

  • A person reads and owns everything that is sent to a customer or published.
  • Facts, numbers and quotes are checked against the source before use.
  • Code and contracts written with AI are reviewed by [role] before use.

Telling people

  • We say when AI wrote or changed something that a customer or a colleague relies on: [when and how].
  • Anything an AI tool is used to decide about a person goes through [role] first.

If something goes wrong

  • If you pasted something you should not have, tell [person] the same day. Nobody is punished for reporting it quickly.
  • [Person] decides what to do next and records it.

Who owns this policy

  • Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date]. Check again by: [date], and whenever a tool or its terms change.

The ten questions your team will ask

Write each answer once, with an owner and the date you last confirmed it. These ten answers are what a bot or a shared FAQ should answer from.

  1. 1.Which AI tools am I allowed to use for work?

    Answer: [The approved list and the account type.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  2. 2.Can I use my personal ChatGPT account for work?

    Answer: [Your rule and the reason.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  3. 3.What can I never paste into an AI tool?

    Answer: [The list of data you do not allow.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  4. 4.Can I use AI to write an email to a customer?

    Answer: [Your rule on review and who owns the message.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  5. 5.Do I have to say when I used AI?

    Answer: [When and how you want it disclosed.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  6. 6.Who checks AI generated code or contracts?

    Answer: [The reviewing role.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  7. 7.How do I ask for a new tool?

    Answer: [The person and the reply time.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  8. 8.What if I pasted something by mistake?

    Answer: [Who to tell and how fast.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  9. 9.Can AI help decide who to hire or promote?

    Answer: [Your rule and who must be involved.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

  10. 10.Where do I find the answers to these questions?

    Answer: [The page or bot, and who owns it.]

    Owner: [name]. Last confirmed: [date].

Before you publish it

  • Check with a lawyer for your state and read each AI vendor's terms before you publish. Rules on data and employment differ.
  • Name the tools you actually use today, not a general list.
  • Test your bot or FAQ with the ten questions before you rely on it.

Want to check a bot against these questions? Use the free honesty test, or turn the answers into a shareable FAQ with the team FAQ builder.

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Common questions

  • It is a short document that says which AI tools employees may use, what information they may enter and how the results must be checked before use.

  • One page for a small team. A long policy will not be read at the moment someone is about to paste something.

  • No. It is a starting point with blanks. Check with a lawyer for your state and your AI vendors' terms before you adopt it.

Guides that explain how to use this

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