The dos and don't of workplace AI policies

According to a recent BBC article, half of all workers use personal generative AI tools (like ChatGPT) at work—often without their employer's knowledge or permission. So the question isn't whether your employees are using AI—it's how to ensure they use it responsibly.

A well-crafted AI policy can help your business leverage AI's benefits while avoiding the legal, ethical, and operational risks that come with it. Here's a simple framework to help guide your workplace AI strategy:

✅ DO This When Using AI at Work

🔹 Set Clear Boundaries – Define what's acceptable and what's not. Specify which AI tools employees can use—and for what purposes. (Example: ChatGPT Acceptable; DeepSeek Not Acceptable.)

🔹 Require Human Oversight – AI is a tool, not a decision-maker. Employees should fact-check, edit, and verify all AI-generated content before using it.

🔹 Protect Confidential & Proprietary Data – Employees should never input sensitive customer, employee, or company information into public AI tools. (If you're not paying for a secure, enterprise-level AI, assume the data is public.)

🔹 Train Your Team – AI literacy is key. Educate employees on AI best practices, its limitations, and risks like bias, misinformation, and security threats.

🔹 Regularly Review & Update Your Policy – AI is evolving fast—your policy should too. Conduct periodic reviews to stay ahead of new AI capabilities and legal requirements.

❌ DON'T Do This With AI at Work

🚫 Don't Assume AI Is Always Right – AI can sound confident while being completely incorrect. Blindly copying and pasting AI-generated content is a recipe for disaster.

🚫 Don't Use AI Without Transparency – If AI is being used in external communications (e.g., customer service chatbots, marketing materials), be upfront about it. Misleading customers or employees can damage trust.

🚫 Don't Let AI Replace Human Creativity & Judgment – AI can assist with content creation, analysis, and automation, but it's no substitute for human expertise. Use it to enhance work—not replace critical thinking.

🚫 Don't Overlook Compliance & Legal Risks – AI introduces regulatory challenges, from intellectual property concerns to data privacy violations. Ensure AI use aligns with laws and industry standards.

AI is neither an automatic win nor a ticking time bomb—it all depends on how you manage it. Put the right guardrails in place, educate your team, and treat AI as a tool (not a replacement for human judgment).

Your employees are already using AI. It's time to embrace it strategically.