Write a Small Business AI Data Policy

Define permitted, restricted, and prohibited data; approved use cases; sharing and retention rules; and incident reporting in employee-friendly language.

Published September 22, 2026 · Dr. Connor Robertson

What to provide

Existing confidentiality terms, data categories, approved tools, retention rules, and escalation contacts.

Starting prompt

Draft a one-page AI use policy from these approved requirements. Specify what staff can input, what needs approval, how outputs are reviewed, and who handles suspected exposure. Mark legal gaps.

Trial case

Walk through a customer record, a public document, and an internal financial report. Staff should be able to identify which approved tool and permission applies to each.

Review gate

Leadership, legal, and security owners approve the policy and confirm vendor settings before distribution.

How to score the result

Policy exceptions and staff questions that reveal unclear categories.

Use the current approved source and keep it available to the reviewer. Check a small set of finished outputs against the previous process before adopting this workflow.

Related workflows

Explore AI Governance and ROI for Small Business or the AI business strategy guide.