An Internal AI Policy Can Improve Your Organization's Communications: Here's Why
DECEMBER 5, 2024
By: Peter Panepento
During a recent training session for nonprofit communicators, I polled the professionals in attendance to learn whether their organizations had created an AI policy.
To my surprise, almost no one answered yes.
At a time when tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft CoPilot, and Gemini are exploding in popularity — and when many organizations are using AI-powered features to enhance their Zoom meetings, check grammar, and create transcripts — AI is all around us.
For understaffed communications teams that are often being asked to do more with less, this is great news, since AI can be especially helpful in streamlining processes, expanding creativity, and correcting errors.
Yet because the technology is new and evolving, many communicators have been slow to incorporate AI into their day-to-day work.
You can help ease those fears — and encourage its use in your communications shop — by creating an AI policy.
In the same way nonprofits and foundations were creating social media policies two decades ago to encourage their teams to use Facebook and Twitter responsibly, they now have an opportunity to do the same with AI.
A formal policy can help signal that it’s ok to use AI as part of your daily work — and provide guardrails to make sure you’re not using it in ways that allow proprietary data to fall into the wrong hands or perpetuate inequities. A strong policy can also help ensure that there’s a human hand on everything we produce and that we’re not passing off the work of robots as our own.
So how do you create an AI policy? Here are some tips.
Build the Case
It’s easy to overlook the need to create a policy when there are so many other priorities that require attention. That’s especially true when that policy revolves around technology that isn’t fully understood by everyone on your team.
As a result, you’ll likely need to persuade leadership it’s worth the time and energy to develop a policy.
You can build the case by outlining the risks associated with AI tools already being used within your organization — and how it’s likely that many team members aren’t yet aware of these risks. You can also show how a policy can encourage innovation and improve productivity.
Enlist Staff Participation
Your policy will be more widely embraced if it is developed with input from throughout your organization.
Larger organizations may consider enlisting a cross-departmental team to lead the creation of their policies. Smaller groups may choose to have internal listening sessions or conduct a survey to gather input.
These steps can help inform the policy’s authors about how AI is being used in your organization, surface questions, and identify areas of concern that should be addressed in your policy.
Highlight Use Cases
Those who are new to AI may not intuitively know how to use it.
With that in mind, your policy may include a section offering examples and ideas on how to use AI at work.
It can also be useful to define scope of use, especially if your organization works with consultants, volunteers, or part-time staff.
Establish Clear Guidelines
Your policy should provide staff with clear guidance on how to avoid risk and ensure they are using AI tools responsibly.
When possible, include examples or case studies showing how potential risks have played out in real life for other organizations.
Train Your Team
As you introduce your policy, conduct an organization-wide training to ensure everyone knows how to use basic AI tools and understands how to incorporate the policy into their day-to-day work.
During your training, set expectations for what AI is and is not — and demonstrate how to use different tools. Consider providing a list of approved tools for people to easily access and reference.
Revisit and Revise
AI tools are dynamic and quickly evolving. As a result, your policy should be revisited regularly to ensure it stays relevant.
Want to dig deeper? Check out my recent webinar for Blackbaud, where I provide practical advice for how to create an AI policy at your organization.
