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Reading your workplace AI policy

Lesson 2 of 7 in AI Tools at Work — Practical, Ethical, Safe · 22 minutes

Most Canadian employers have written rules about which AI tools you can use, with what data, and for what tasks. Learning to read these policies — without skipping the parts that matter — protects your job.

What you'll learn

  • Locate your employer's AI policy (intranet, employee handbook, IT site)
  • Identify the four most important rules in any AI policy
  • Distinguish 'approved' tools from 'shadow IT' tools
  • Know what to ask if the policy is unclear

From the lesson

By 2025, most large Canadian employers — banks, hospitals, governments, universities, retailers — have written AI policies. Many small employers do not. Some policies are 1 page; some are 30 pages. They share a common structure once you learn to read them. The trick is finding the four key questions and finding their answers, even when the document is long and full of legal language.

1. Where to find your employer's AI policy

AI policies usually live in one of these places: • The employee handbook (look in 'Acceptable Use' or 'Information Technology' or 'Confidentiality' sections) • A standalone document on the company intranet (search 'AI policy', 'generative AI', or 'ChatGPT') • The IT…