AI for business · Practical guide

Write a simple AI use policy for a small team

Beginner · Published 2026-10-03 · Reviewed 2026-10-05

Tools: Multi-tool
Audience: Managers and small-business operators
Topic: AI for business

Document folders organised on a shelf beside a desk

You’ll finish with: a short policy people can apply to daily work.

A short team rulebook beats a vague “use AI responsibly” message. Write down what people can use, what they can share and who checks the result. Keep it readable by the people doing the work.

Set up

Allow 30 minutes for a draft. Bring your organisation’s existing rules and a decision owner. This practice document does not replace legal, security or employment advice.

Download this guide’s practice sheet ↓

Try this example

FICTIONAL PRACTICE MATERIAL
Fictional team: five staff. Approved account: company AI workspace. Allowed example: public brochure drafts. Excluded until approval: customer records and contracts. Jo owns policy questions. Outputs must be checked before external use.

Do the task

Separate approved facts from policy decisions still awaiting agreement.
Draft one page with allowed work, exclusions, review and incident contact.
Have the responsible people approve it before calling it a team policy.

Your reusable prompt

Draft a plain-English AI-use guide from these facts. Include approved account, allowed inputs, excluded inputs, review responsibility and questions for Jo. Mark missing decisions as Draft: needs approval.

PRACTICE INPUT
Fictional team: five staff. Approved account: company AI workspace. Allowed example: public brochure drafts. Excluded until approval: customer records and contracts. Jo owns policy questions. Outputs must be checked before external use.

Refine your result

Add a practical example of permitted brochure drafting and an example that must wait. Avoid claiming this policy guarantees compliance.

Check the result

The result should name an actual decision owner and distinguish draft guidance from an approved rule. Missing data-handling decisions must not be filled in by the model.

Save and reuse

Save policy-draft.md with an owner and review date. Publish it internally only after the required approval.

Sources and notes

Connected apps and access Checked 2026-10-05

The practice input and teaching prompt are original 5HO material. Examples are fictional; they are not screenshots or claims of a completed real-world task.
Official documentation supports the relevant product concepts. Setup availability depends on your account; where a guide offers a fallback, it does not prove the connected capability worked.