Simple AI rules for your team: what to share and what to check
Your team is probably already using AI tools. A one-page set of rules protects your customers and keeps quality high. Includes a policy you can copy.
On this page
In many small businesses, a few people have started using AI chat tools on their own. That is a good sign, but without shared rules it carries two risks: private information ends up in tools you have not checked, and unchecked AI text goes out to customers.
A one-page policy is enough. Here is what to put in it, and a version you can copy at the end.
1. Which tools are allowed
Name the AI tools your team may use for work. Choose tools whose data settings you have read. If people use personal accounts, say whether that is acceptable. For how to check a tool, see What to check before you pay for any AI tool.
2. What must never be shared
List it clearly. A sensible starting list:
- customers' personal details: names with phone numbers, addresses, ID numbers
- passwords, bank details and payment information
- confidential prices, contracts and supplier terms
- employee personal information
Teach the simple habit of replacing real details with placeholders before pasting text into a tool.
Example (made up). Instead of pasting "Ramesh Gupta, 98xxxxxx10, has not paid invoice 214 for Rs 48,000", write "[customer name] has not paid [invoice number] for [amount]". Ask the AI for the message, then put the real details back yourself.
A table you can print and put near every desk:
| Fine to paste | Never paste |
|---|---|
| Your own draft of a message, with placeholders | A customer's name with their phone number or address |
| A product description or a price list that is already public | Passwords, OTPs, bank or card details |
| A long document you need summarised, with names removed | Aadhaar, PAN or other ID numbers |
| Your rough notes for a post or a plan | Confidential prices, contracts and supplier terms |
| A question about how to do something | Salary and other employee details |
3. What a person must always check
AI can state wrong things with confidence. Agree that a person checks:
- every message, quote or document before it goes to a customer
- every number, date, price and name
- anything about law, tax, health or safety
4. Who is responsible
The person who sends the work is responsible for it, whether or not AI helped. Say this plainly. "The AI wrote it" is not an answer to a customer.
5. What good use looks like
Give examples so people know AI is welcome: drafting replies, summarising long documents, preparing first drafts of posts, planning a week, and explaining something unfamiliar.
6. Where to ask
Name one person who answers questions about tools and rules. People follow rules more easily when there is someone to ask.
Why this also matters under Indian law
Your business is responsible for the personal data of its customers and staff, whichever tool it is typed into. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act sets duties for businesses that handle personal data. Keeping personal details out of tools you have not checked is the simplest way to stay on the safe side. This is general information, not legal advice. For more, see Customer data, privacy and AI tools.
How to introduce the rules
Hold a 30-minute session:
- Explain the two risks in plain words (5 minutes).
- Show two or three good uses on a screen (10 minutes).
- Practise the placeholder habit with one real message (10 minutes).
- Ask the team which tools they already use, without blame (5 minutes).
Put the page somewhere everyone can find it, and review it every three months.
A policy you can copy
AI rules for [business name]
- Use only these tools for work: [list].
- Never paste customer personal data, passwords, bank details or confidential prices into an AI tool. Use placeholders.
- Read and check everything before it goes to a customer.
- You are responsible for what you send.
- If AI gives you a fact, a number or a legal point, verify it before you use it.
- If you are unsure, ask [name].
Reviewed on: [date]. Next review: [date].
