Whether you are allowing your employees to adopt any new LLM, AI agent, or model, or only allowing specific ones, AI policy is more than just a document, AI Acceptable Use and AI Governance policies are guardrails to help your team grow in the right direction.
What makes a good policy
[ 01 / 06 ]It should be specific enough that people can actually apply it, and should include things like which tools are approved for what kinds of work, categories of data that should never be entered into an AI tool, what types of things must have a human review the output before it proceeds, how to request a new tool, who reviews it, etc.
Compliance is monitored
[ 02 / 06 ]A company utilizes many different ways to monitor anyone using their service against their policies, including community self-reporting, prompt scanning, etc.
It clearly defines how we react to violations of the policy
[ 03 / 06 ]When a policy is not followed, it can negatively impact existing customers, impact company reputation, or even result in monetary consequences. The policies give you leverage to take reasonable actions against those that violate your policies and protect your company and your customers.
Stale policies are removed or updated
[ 04 / 06 ]Stale policies can confuse and fail to guide the very people they are meant to help, regular reviews and a clear request process for changes keep your business relevant and address the latest advancements.
Clear policy ownership
[ 05 / 06 ]The policy owner's responsibility is to review the policy regularly, provide evidence to regulators/auditors/customers, and answer questions.
Why this is not just a bunch of documentation
[ 06 / 06 ]- When customers or employees have questions, you have a consistent message and expectation
- It is always adapting to the changes to your business to enable your employees to act responsibly and nimbly
- Policies aim to reduce risk to your business
- They address key EU AI Act, GDPR, and sector-specific laws, where relevant
We are not looking to create thousands of policies, it should be short enough that people will read it, specific enough that they can apply it, clear enough to police, and reviewed often enough that it is relevant to the changes and growth in your business.
This article is general information for growing businesses. It is not legal advice, an audit opinion, or a certification standard.
I thoroughly enjoy the writing process and each time I write passionately about these topics I do so without the assistance of AI.