AI Policy Template
An AI policy template gives your organization a clear, shared set of rules for using AI tools at work: which tools are approved, what data can go into them, how output is checked, and who is accountable. Use this free AI policy template as an AI usage policy or acceptable use policy for your team, then publish it where people will actually read it and keep it current as the tools change.
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ChatGPTI need to write an AI Policy. Act as an expert technical writer and draft one for me. Use this structure, keeping each section clear, concise, and genuinely useful to the reader: 1. Policy title and details 2. Purpose 3. Scope 4. Definitions 5. Approved and prohibited tools 6. Data protection and confidentiality 7. Human review and accuracy 8. Transparency and disclosure 9. Intellectual property 10. Prohibited uses 11. Roles and responsibilities 12. Training 13. Breaches and enforcement 14. Revision history Before you begin, ask me for the details you need: the product, team, or audience this is for, and anything specific I should include. Then write the full AI Policy in clean, well-formatted Markdown.
Write an AI Policy using the structure below. Keep each section clear, concise, and genuinely useful to the reader. Structure: 1. Policy title and details 2. Purpose 3. Scope 4. Definitions 5. Approved and prohibited tools 6. Data protection and confidentiality 7. Human review and accuracy 8. Transparency and disclosure 9. Intellectual property 10. Prohibited uses 11. Roles and responsibilities 12. Training 13. Breaches and enforcement 14. Revision history Use rich formatting so it reads well in a knowledge base: - Clear headings and subheadings for each section. - Callout boxes for asides: a Tip callout for advice, a Note callout for helpful context, and a Warning callout for anything a reader must not miss. - Tables for structured or comparison content. - Numbered lists for sequential steps and bulleted lists for options. - Bold for key terms and any values people must not get wrong.
Connected HelpDocs over MCP? Add "save this as an unpublished HelpDocs article" to the prompt and the draft lands in your knowledge base, ready to review.
## The AI policy template ### 1. Policy title and details Give the policy a title, a version number, and an effective date. Then note who owns the document and who approved it. Wrap up by adding the date for the next scheduled review. ### 2. Purpose The reason this policy exists is simple: you should be able to work productively with AI tools without putting our customers, staff, data, or the company's reputation at risk. ### 3. Scope This policy applies to everyone working for or on your behalf, including employees and contractors. It also covers the AI you use: standalone assistants, AI features built into other software, and AI agents that take action on your systems. ### 4. Definitions Define the terms this policy uses, like generative AI, AI tool, AI agent, confidential information, and personal data, in plain language. Keep each one brief and make sure it matches your other policies. ### 5. Approved and prohibited tools This section covers the AI tools you're cleared to use at work, the ones that are off limits, and how to get a new tool approved. | Tool | Status | Approved uses | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | TODO | Approved | TODO | TODO | | TODO | Prohibited | TODO | TODO | ### 6. Data protection and confidentiality Be specific about which information can and can't go into AI tools. - **Keep out entirely:** personal details about your customers or team members, login details, or anything protected by a confidentiality agreement, unless the tool's approved for that - **Fine with approved tools:** internal documents marked for that kind of use - **Always okay:** anything already out in the public ### 7. Human review and accuracy AI won't always get things right. Its responses can be wrong, outdated, or skewed. You should check any AI output before you use it, publish it, or send it anywhere. The responsibility for that final work stays with you. ### 8. Transparency and disclosure Point out where AI involvement has to be disclosed, such as in messages to customers, anything you publish, or decisions that affect people. Write down whatever labeling your organization asks for. ### 9. Intellectual property Cover who owns work that AI produces, the risk of output looking like someone else's material, and what restrictions apply when AI touches code or creative assets. Then compare these rules with the terms of every tool you've approved. ### 10. Prohibited uses You can't put it to work deciding who gets hired or disciplined without a human looking things over first, churning out misleading content, or slipping past security controls. ### 11. Roles and responsibilities You'll see who's in charge of the policy, who signs off on new tools, who to ask if you have questions, and how to report a breach. ### 12. Training Training to complete before working with AI tools on the job, and how often it gets updated. ### 13. Breaches and enforcement How you report and investigate breaches, the outcomes that follow, and how those stay in line with your other disciplinary policies. ### 14. Revision history | Version | Date | Author | Change | Next review | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1.0 | TODO | TODO | Initial version | TODO |
The AI policy template
Duplicate this layout into a new article and swap the sample guidance under each heading for your organization’s own rules. This is a first draft, not legal advice, so don’t publish the finished policy until your legal or compliance advisers have reviewed it.
1. Policy title and details
Give the policy a title, a version number, and an effective date. Then note who owns the document and who approved it. Wrap up by adding the date for the next scheduled review.
2. Purpose
The reason this policy exists is simple: you should be able to work productively with AI tools without putting our customers, staff, data, or the company’s reputation at risk.
3. Scope
This policy applies to everyone working for or on your behalf, including employees and contractors. It also covers the AI you use: standalone assistants, AI features built into other software, and AI agents that take action on your systems.
4. Definitions
Define the terms this policy uses, like generative AI, AI tool, AI agent, confidential information, and personal data, in plain language. Keep each one brief and make sure it matches your other policies.
5. Approved and prohibited tools
This section covers the AI tools you’re cleared to use at work, the ones that are off limits, and how to get a new tool approved.
| Tool | Status | Approved uses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TODO | Approved | TODO | TODO |
| TODO | Prohibited | TODO | TODO |
6. Data protection and confidentiality
Be specific about which information can and can’t go into AI tools.
- Keep out entirely: personal details about your customers or team members, login details, or anything protected by a confidentiality agreement, unless the tool’s approved for that
- Fine with approved tools: internal documents marked for that kind of use
- Always okay: anything already out in the public
7. Human review and accuracy
AI won’t always get things right. Its responses can be wrong, outdated, or skewed. You should check any AI output before you use it, publish it, or send it anywhere. The responsibility for that final work stays with you.
8. Transparency and disclosure
Point out where AI involvement has to be disclosed, such as in messages to customers, anything you publish, or decisions that affect people. Write down whatever labeling your organization asks for.
9. Intellectual property
Cover who owns work that AI produces, the risk of output looking like someone else’s material, and what restrictions apply when AI touches code or creative assets. Then compare these rules with the terms of every tool you’ve approved.
10. Prohibited uses
You can’t put it to work deciding who gets hired or disciplined without a human looking things over first, churning out misleading content, or slipping past security controls.
11. Roles and responsibilities
You’ll see who’s in charge of the policy, who signs off on new tools, who to ask if you have questions, and how to report a breach.
12. Training
Training to complete before working with AI tools on the job, and how often it gets updated.
13. Breaches and enforcement
How you report and investigate breaches, the outcomes that follow, and how those stay in line with your other disciplinary policies.
14. Revision history
| Version | Date | Author | Change | Next review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | TODO | TODO | Initial version | TODO |
Tip
If your team can’t find the policy, they won’t follow it. Start a free HelpDocs trial and put your AI policy right where people already look for answers.
How to fill in this AI policy template
AI tools outpace most policies, so make this one workable and easy to refresh:
- Start with what people already do. Ask your teams which tools they reach for and what they use them for. Rules grounded in real behavior get followed; rules built on guesses get ignored.
- Be precise about data. “Use AI responsibly” gives nobody anything to go on. Spell out which kinds of information can never go into a tool that isn’t approved.
- Keep approval easy. When the request path drags, people won’t bother asking. Post a short, plain process instead.
- Keep humans in charge. The rule that matters most: a named person owns every output that leaves your office.
- Run it past reviewers. Have legal, security, and HR read through the draft before launch, and tune it to match your obligations.
- Check in regularly. Pick a short review cadence and keep the approved tools table current as things shift.
Our AGENTS.md template is worth a look if your team works with AI coding agents too. It gives you a ready way to spell out clear, written instructions for them.
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