Your one-page AI policy

⏱ 30 min7 steps

Someone on your team is probably already using , maybe to word a tricky email or tidy a product description. A one-page policy says what's fine, what never goes in, and what a person checks before it goes out. You'll draft it with Claude and decide every rule yourself. Bring a rough idea of who uses AI and for what. Your first version won't be right in every line. You'll change it after a month of real use, and that's the plan.

AI Short for artificial intelligence. Here it means a program like Claude that reads what you write and writes back in plain words. All words

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List how AI gets used at work now
A policy works better when it starts from what people really do. In a plumbing firm, the office manager might use AI to word quote emails. In a store, someone might write product descriptions with it. An office might summarize long documents, and a one-person cleaning service might write its weekly posts.
1. Ask each person who works with you which AI tools they use for work, and what for.
2. Write it down: the tool, who uses it, and what they use it for.
3. Add anything you'd like them to use it for that they don't yet.
That's not what I see
My staff say they don't use AI.
Ask what they'd like to use it for instead. Some people use it on their own phones without thinking of it as AI at work. Ask without blame, so you get the real answers.
I work alone.
Write the policy anyway. It sets your own rules, and you can hand it to anyone who helps you, like a subcontractor or a family member who does your books.
Start a new chat and describe your business
This sets the rules first, then has Claude learn about your business before it drafts anything.

AI drafts and sorts; a person approves anything with a price, a date or your name on it. That's the rule for this section, and your policy will carry it.

This is a plain house policy, not legal advice. It doesn't name any law, and Claude doesn't tell you it makes you compliant with anything. Rules on privacy, staff and customer data vary by place. If you're not sure what applies to you, ask a professional.
1. Open the or claude.ai and start a new chat.
2. Copy the prompt below.
```
I own a small business, and I want a one-page policy on how my staff and I use AI at work. You'll help me draft it in this chat. The rules: you draft, and I decide every rule and check every word. This is a plain house policy, not legal advice, so don't name any law and don't say the policy makes me compliant with anything. Use plain words a new hire could read in two minutes. Write FILL IN for anything I need to decide. First, ask me one question at a time: what I do, how many people work with me, and which AI tools we use and what for. My business: [what you do]
```
1. Paste it into the chat. Replace the part in square brackets with what you do, like electrical work, a bakery or a dental office.
2. Send it, then answer Claude's questions one at a time, using your list from Step 1.
prompt What you type to Claude. A good one says what you want, how to work and what never to do. All wordsClaude app Claude on your phone or computer, where you chat with it by typing. claude.ai is the same thing in a web browser. All words
You should see:
Claude says it understands the rules, then asks its first question.
That's not what I see
Claude asked me everything at once.
Type this and send it: One at a time, please. Then answer the first one.

Have Claude draft the policy

This prompt gives Claude the headings and the rules that never change: what stays out of AI, and what a person checks. You'll fill in the rest.

Copy the prompt below.

Draft the policy. Use these headings. Which tools we use: FILL IN for the tools and whether staff use a work account or their own. Never put into AI: customer names, contact details or anything about a customer; passwords and sign-in codes; bank, card and account numbers; staff pay, health or home details; and FILL IN for anything else private to my business. Good uses: drafting messages, posts and checklists, and sorting ideas, with FILL IN for our own examples. A person checks first: AI drafts and sorts, and a person reads and approves anything with a price, a date or the business's name on it before it goes out, like a quote, a bill, a customer message, a post or a review reply. Who checks: FILL IN. Who owns what AI makes: FILL IN, marked CHECK WITH A PROFESSIONAL. If something private goes in by mistake: tell FILL IN the same day. Questions go to: FILL IN. Keep it under 350 words.

Paste it into the same chat and send it.
Check the "A person checks first" part says a person approves anything with a price, a date or the business's name on it. If it says anything softer, change it back.

You should see:

A one-page policy under those headings, with FILL IN wherever you decide.

That's not what I see

Claude named a law, or said the policy makes me compliant.: Reply: Take out every law and every claim that this makes me compliant. This is a plain house policy.
The policy says AI may send messages or reply to customers by itself.: Reply: Change that. AI drafts and sorts, and a person approves anything with a price, a date or our name on it before it goes out.

Fill in your own rules
1. Go through every FILL IN and write your answer, in your own words.
2. For who owns what AI makes, leave it as FILL IN until you've asked a professional. It depends on the AI tool's terms and on the law where you are.
3. For who checks, name a role, like the owner or the office manager, so the policy still works when someone leaves.
That's not what I see
I don't know who to ask about who owns what AI makes.
Start with whoever already handles your contracts, like your accountant, a lawyer, or a business adviser at a local small-business center. Leave that line as FILL IN until you've asked.
Have Claude read it as a new hire
A rule that can be read two ways will get read whichever way suits the reader on a busy day. This prompt looks for lines like that.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Here is my policy with my own rules filled in: [paste your policy]. Read it as a new hire on their first day. List any line they might not understand, any line two people could read two ways, and any rule that lets AI send, publish or decide something without a person checking it. Quote each line. Don't add new rules.
```
1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the part in square brackets with your policy, with your rules filled in.
2. Send it, and fix any line it points to, in your own words.
You should see:
A short list of quoted lines that might confuse a new hire, or a note that none do.
That's not what I see
Nobody has reported a snag on this step yet. Getting stuck is normal. Read the step again one line at a time, and compare your screen with the video.
Put the policy on one page
This prompt sets the policy out as one page with a title, a date and a line to sign.
1. Copy the prompt below.
```
Give me the policy again as one page, with the changes I make below, under the title How we use AI at [your business name]. Put Last updated: FILL IN under the title, and at the bottom a line for each person to sign and date that they've read it. Keep every FILL IN I haven't filled. Add nothing else. My changes: [your changes, or NONE]
```
1. Paste it into the same chat. Replace the parts in square brackets with your business name and any changes, or NONE.
2. Send it.
3. Copy the page into a document called , and fill in the date.
AI policy A short page of rules for how you and the people who work with you use AI at work. All words
You should see:
One page with the title, the date line, your rules and a line at the bottom to sign.
That's not what I see
The page looks messy when I paste it.
Ask Claude for it as plain text, with a blank line between sections. Then copy it again.
Go through it with your staff
1. Print the policy, or send it to everyone who works with you.
2. Go through it together in 10 minutes at your next team meeting, and answer questions.
3. Have each person sign and date it.
4. Put a copy where people will see it, like the office wall or the shared .
5. Add a yearly reminder in your calendar called Check the AI policy.
folder A place on your computer that holds files and other folders, like a drawer in a filing cabinet. All words
That's not what I see
Someone asks about a tool or a use the policy doesn't cover.
Write the question down and answer it yourself within the week. Add the answer to the policy and change the date at the top.

Your challenge

Finish your policy this week, with every FILL IN decided except the one on who owns what AI makes, if you're still waiting to ask a professional. Go through it with everyone who works with you, and put it where they'll see it.

Last checked 2026-10-20

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