Does My Small Business Need an AI Use Policy?

Yes. If any of your staff use ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini for work, you already have AI use happening, and a short policy decides whether it happens safely. Without one, each person guesses.

Why even a small team needs one

Staff will use AI whether you approve or not, often on personal accounts you cannot see, which is shadow AI. A policy moves that use onto tools you have chosen and tells people where the lines sit. It also gives you something to point to when a client asks how you handle their information.

What goes in one page

1. Approved tools. Name them, and say which plan or account to use.
2. Data rules. What may never be pasted in, such as client identities, health or financial details, passwords and anything under a confidentiality agreement.
3. Checking output. A person is responsible for checking anything sent to a client. AI drafts get read and verified, including figures, names and quotes.
4. Disclosure. When you tell clients AI was involved, if your contracts or industry expect it.
5. Who to ask. One named person for questions and incidents.
6. Review date. Tools change, so revisit it every few months.

How to write it

Start by auditing how your team uses AI today. Ask them. Then write rules that match real tasks. A policy that bans everything gets ignored, and one that names the safe way to do the common jobs gets followed. The Australian Government's Guidance for AI Adoption is a useful reference.

Policy is one part of the picture. Privacy and contract obligations are legal questions, so read the OAIC's guidance on commercially available AI products and ask a lawyer where the stakes are high.

21Labs writes practical policies as part of AI adoption, alongside the rollout that makes staff follow them.