Clear guardrails for safe AI use at work.
Your employees have been using AI for a while, whether you have a policy or not. Without guardrails, it happens in the shadows. We draw up a practical AI usage policy that enables safe use and discourages shadow AI, so people get started with confidence.
What is an AI usage policy?
An AI usage policy is the set of agreements on how employees may use AI tools at work. It records which tools are allowed, which data may go in, how human control is safeguarded and where you can turn with questions. Good policy makes safe use easy and discourages shadow AI.
- Describes which tools are and are not allowed
- Governs which data employees may put into AI
- Safeguards human control over AI output
- Works better facilitating than banning
Why you need an AI usage policy now
Your employees already use AI today. They summarise emails, have texts written and ask ChatGPT questions about work, whether you have a policy for it or not. The question is not whether it happens, but whether it happens in view or out of it.
Without guardrails, shadow AI emerges: use via private accounts, outside IT and security. Company data and personal data then end up in tools without agreements, sometimes outside the EU. Banning everything doesn't solve that, it just moves it further out of view.
Gaide takes the facilitating route. We give employees good, approved tools plus clear agreements: which tools, which data, which controls. Then everyone uses AI in an environment you can oversee, and people actually dare to use it.
We don't deliver a thick document that disappears into a drawer. As forward deployed engineers we write a policy of one or two pages that people understand, and introduce it with a short training so it truly comes alive.
The building blocks of a workable policy
Which tools
Green, amber, red
A clear list of approved tools, tools allowed only under conditions and tools that are not permitted. So nobody has to guess.
Which data
What may go in, what may not
Clear rules on which data employees may and may not put into an AI tool. Personal data and business secrets get extra attention.
Human control
Output stays human work
Agreements on responsibility: AI proposes, the human decides. We record for which decisions human review is mandatory.
Point of contact
Where to turn
A clear point of contact and a simple route to get new tools approved. So the policy stays alive instead of disappearing into a drawer.
What you get from us
Downloadable policy template
A proven AI usage policy template as a starting point, which we fill in together with you based on your tools, sector and risk profile.
Shadow AI baseline
An overview of which AI tools are already in use, including private accounts, so you know where you're coming from.
Approved tools list
A clear green-amber-red classification of tools, so employees never have to guess what is and isn't allowed.
Introduction & training
A short training per target group that makes the policy truly come alive, instead of disappearing into a drawer.
How do we approach it?
From baseline to a policy people know and use.
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Baseline & shadow AI mapping
1 weekWe map which AI tools are already being used, including the private accounts switched on outside IT. Without judgement, because this is the starting point.
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Defining the guardrails
1-2 weeksTogether with leadership, IT and a few key users we set the guardrails: which tools, which data, which controls. Workable and fitting how you work.
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Writing the policy
1 weekWe write an AI usage policy in plain language — not a legal document nobody reads, but clear agreements on one or two pages.
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Introduction & training
1-2 sessions per groupA policy only works if people know and understand it. We introduce the policy with a short training so everyone knows what is allowed and why.
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Maintenance & follow-up
ongoingAI tools change fast. We agree a lightweight rhythm to keep the policy current and to assess new tools before they go into use.
What do we help you with, concretely?
For the board
From worry to control
You know employees use AI, but not how or with what. A supported policy gives you control without having to ban everything.
For IT & security
Bringing shadow AI into the open
Banning backfires: people switch to private accounts. Good guardrails plus good tools bring that usage back into view.
For HR & team leads
Clarity for your team
Employees want to use AI well but often don't dare, afraid of doing something wrong. A clear policy gives them the confidence to get started.
Policy works best combined with knowledge and compliance. Discover how we make employees genuinely skilled with AI literacy, and how a usage policy fits within your obligations under the EU AI Act.
Want to know how AI-mature your organisation is first?
The AI Readiness Scan shows where you stand, from tools and policy to buy-in. A good starting point before you draw up a usage policy.
Take the AI Readiness Scan
Frequently asked questions about AI usage policy
What belongs in an AI usage policy?
A good AI usage policy describes at least four things: which tools are allowed and which are not, which data may and may not go in, how human control over the output is safeguarded, and where employees can turn with questions or to get a new tool approved. It's important that it's in plain language and short enough to actually be read — not a twenty-page legal document.
Is it better to ban or to facilitate AI use?
Facilitate. Banning everything sounds safe, but drives employees to private accounts outside any oversight — exactly the shadow AI problem you wanted to prevent. Better to give good, approved tools plus clear guardrails. Then people use AI in an environment you can oversee and secure, and you get more value out of it too.
How do you enforce an AI usage policy?
Enforcement starts with clarity and ease, not control. If the policy is clear, good tools are available and there is an easy point of contact, the vast majority of people comply naturally. On top of that, technical measures help (which tools are available on the work environment) and a periodic check. Making the right behaviour easy works better than punishing.
What is shadow AI and why is it a risk?
Shadow AI is the use of AI tools outside the organisation's view, usually via private accounts. The risk lies in data: company data and personal data then end up in tools without a processor agreement, possibly outside the EU and sometimes used for training. You have no view and no control over it. Good policy plus good tools bring that usage back into the open.
Do you have a ready-made template for this?
We work from a proven policy template as a starting point, so we don't begin from scratch. But a template is never the end product: we fill it in together with you based on your tools, sector and risk profile. That way you get a policy that fits your organisation instead of a generic document.
Ready for clear guardrails around AI?
Book a no-obligation call. In 30 minutes we'll sketch what a workable AI usage policy for your organisation looks like and what the first step is.