How to write an AI usage policy your team will actually read
One page, plain language, real examples. How to write an AI usage policy for a small business, with a template you can adapt this week.
Daine MawerFounder, Plaincraft
2 min read
The short answer
A useful AI usage policy fits on one page, uses plain language, and gives real examples from your business. It says which tools are approved, what information can and can't go in, when a person must check the output, and who to ask.
Why most policies don't get read
They're too long, too legal or too vague. A ten-page document full of "users shall" gets signed and forgotten. People need something they can check in thirty seconds when they're about to paste something into a chatbot.
What to put on the page
Approved tools.
Name them. Anything not on the list needs a quick check first.What can go in.
Your own drafts, public information, anonymised examples.What can't go in.
ID numbers, health or financial details, client data the tool isn't approved for, passwords.When a person must check.
Anything sent to a client, anything with numbers, anything legal or HR.Who to ask.
One named person, not "management".
A starting template
| Section | Example wording |
|---|---|
| Approved tools | "You can use Microsoft Copilot with your work account." |
| Allowed | "Drafting emails, summarising your own notes, rewording documents." |
| Not allowed | "Client ID numbers, medical information or bank details, in any tool." |
| Always check | "Read every word before it goes to a client." |
| Questions | "Ask [name] before trying a new tool." |
Making it stick
Walk the team through it in fifteen minutes, with examples from their own work. Review it every six months, or whenever you add a tool. If you'd like help, governance and policy covers the policy, the POPIA check and the team briefing.
Written by Daine Mawer
Founder of Plaincraft, an independent AI consultancy for South African SMEs, with 17 years of building websites and digital products behind it. AI is part of how I work every day, so I know where it earns its keep and where it doesn't.
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