GuideAI · 6 min
How do we get employees to use AI safely, without the cost running away?
Write the rules, give people one approved way in, train them and measure real use. Rules that say yes, with limits, beat a ban that people quietly route around.
The Clectiv team ·
If your people use AI to get work done, give them an approved way to do it. Rules that say yes, with limits, keep that use where you can see it. You get safety and a bill you can read.
What goes in an AI usage policy?#
A usage policy is one page that tells people what they can do with AI at work. Write it to say yes, with limits. People follow a rule they can live with, and they route around one they can't.
It starts with three questions:
- Which tools are approved? Name them, including the ones already on your bill.
- What data can go in? Sort it into what's fine, what needs masking, and what never leaves the building: customer records, health data, card numbers, source code.
- Who approves a new tool? One named person or team with a short turnaround. A slow approval sends people to their own accounts.
The plan asks the rest, from who checks the output to who people ask.
Put the data question first. That's where the real damage can happen. A policy that runs past a page won't get read, so cut it down until it fits.
Before you call anyone#
Get the rules into Clectiv AI before you buy another tool. Then Clectiv AI runs the process: it bids the work out to the providers that fit, they compete, and you choose. Call one first and you'll be handed a policy shaped around its product.
Why does one way in beat a list of banned tools?#
Because a ban only moves the use. People still have work to do. If the approved tool is harder than a personal account on their own phone, the personal account wins, and your data goes with it.
One approved way in fixes that. It's a single place people go to use AI, with your rules applied for them. Nobody has to remember the policy, because the door enforces it.
Yes, with limits, sounds like this: drafting, summarizing and research in approved tools. Customer data goes in once the way in masks it. Nothing goes in a personal account.
Liminal sells governed access to AI models. It masks personal, health and card data before a prompt reaches the model, and it logs each use. On the network side, Zscaler and Cloudflare sell the data controls that keep AI traffic on the approved route.
Each is one of our AI providers, and Clectiv AI runs the process for you from start to finish: start a project.
Use what others already learned. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run for customers like you, so you start where they finished. These providers see the plan directly, which is how you get the best pricing, terms and contract we can get.
Your approved list can include what you already pay for. If your people use Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise or Claude seats daily, the policy covers those too. The way in picks up everyone without a seat.
Write the approved tools, and what each one may touch, with Clectiv AI. Then the rules and the door match.
How do we know adoption is working?#
Count people who use AI, not licenses you bought. Admin consoles show who's active and how often. A seat nobody opens is just cost.
Four signs tell you it's working:
- Active use grows across teams, not just in IT.
- People can say what it's for. Ask them. If nobody can name the jobs it does, it isn't part of the work yet.
- Cost per active person falls. The total bill can grow while this number falls, and that's healthy.
- Fewer tools show up outside the door. Expense reports and card statements will tell you.
Train by role, using their own work. Show the finance team what finance data stays out of a prompt, and show the support team what a good prompt looks like. People learn the rules faster on a task they know.
Set each team's budget before the launch, not after the first surprise. Adoption is when usage bills climb. Rules that never get reviewed go stale as new tools show up, so check the numbers on a schedule.
Common questions#
Should we ban AI tools at work?#
What should an AI usage policy cover?#
Who approves a new AI tool?#
How do we train employees to use AI?#
How do we know if people are really using AI?#
How does Clectiv AI get this done?#
Bring it to Clectiv AI. Tell it what AI your people use today and what worries you. It scopes the rollout with you and writes your plan: the rules, the approved way in, the training and what you'll measure.
Then the Clectiv team takes your plan to the AI governance providers that fit, all at once, through our partner network of 620+ providers. Those providers bid and compete, the team pushes on terms before anything gets signed, and you choose.
Other buyers already wore this path in. Clectiv AI runs the process we've run before, so you start where other buyers ended up. Then the providers that fit see the plan directly, for the best pricing, terms and contract we can get on each.
It's free to you, and the bids come back in days, not months. The AI page has everything we cover in AI.
Wondering what the approved way in is made of? Read what an AI gateway is.
Sources and method. No prices appear in this guide. Product names are the ones on buyers' bills, as the AI page lists them. Liminal is an example of who sells AI governance, from Clectiv's provider directory, not a ranking.