AI Act • AI Governance • Risk Management

AI Policy Template for Businesses

A clear AI policy tells employees which AI tools they may use, which data is restricted, when human review is required, and which use cases need approval.

Last updated4 May 2026
Update workflowWeekly monitoring, monthly edits
MethodOfficial sources + practical governance controls
Quick next step

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AI Policy Generator

Create a first-draft acceptable-use policy outline. Review it with your leadership, legal, security, privacy, and HR teams before publishing.

Why every company needs an AI policy

Employees are already using AI tools for writing, research, coding, analysis, customer support and productivity. Without a policy, they may paste confidential data into unapproved tools, rely on inaccurate outputs, create copyrighted content risk, or use AI for decisions that require human review. A policy does not need to be complex to be useful.

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What to include

  • Purpose: why the policy exists and who it applies to.
  • Approved tools: which AI tools may be used and under what conditions.
  • Data rules: restrictions for personal data, customer data, source code, trade secrets and regulated information.
  • Human review: when outputs must be checked before use.
  • Prohibited uses: high-impact or sensitive decisions without approval.
  • Transparency: when to disclose AI use to customers, users or employees.
  • Incidents: how to report mistakes, data exposure, harmful outputs or misuse.

Policy language you can adapt

Example: “Employees may use approved AI tools to support drafting, summarisation, brainstorming, coding assistance and internal research. Employees must not enter confidential, personal, customer, security-sensitive or regulated data into AI tools unless the tool and use case have been approved by the company. AI outputs must be reviewed by a qualified human before being used in customer-facing, employment-related, legal, financial, safety, medical or regulated contexts.”

Rollout tips

Publish the policy with examples, not just rules. Add a short training page, an approved-tools list, a question channel, and a review date. The policy should be updated when tools, laws, vendors, or business uses change.

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FAQ

Can I copy this policy directly?

Use it as a starting point only. Adapt it to your company, sector, data, tools and legal obligations.

Should contractors follow the policy?

Yes, if contractors use AI tools for your business or access your data.

Should AI use be disclosed?

Often yes when people interact with AI, when content is AI-generated, or when disclosure is required by law, policy or customer expectations.

Sources and review method

This page is written as general business guidance, not legal advice. It is maintained from official AI Act materials, European Commission / AI Office updates, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and practical AI governance controls.

Reviewed byAI Compliance Checkup Editorial Team
Review methodOfficial AI Act, European Commission, EUR-Lex and NIST sources
Last reviewed4 May 2026
Contactcontact@aicompliancecheckup.com