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Lesson 7 of 8 · 6 min · +100 XP

How do you use AI at work safely?

To use AI in the workplace safely, follow your company's AI policy and use only approved tools. Keep confidential, customer and personal data out of tools that aren't approved for it. Review every output for errors before you use or send it, be open about AI help where it matters, and remember that you stay responsible for the result.

▶ Try it

Why it matters

AI can draft, summarise and sort in seconds, and it can leak data or slip errors into your work just as fast. You'll learn the four habits that keep AI use at work safe.

In 6 minutes you'll be able to

  • Follow your AI policy and use only approved tools.
  • Keep confidential, customer and personal data out unless the tool is approved for it.
  • Review every output. You stay responsible for what you send.

What you'll practise

  1. Your Monday AI workflow

    Here's how a new colleague set things up. Switch each item to the safe setting.

    • Use the company-approved version of Lumi
    • Paste the full customer list into a free chatbot
    • Remove names and account numbers before pasting
    • Send AI-drafted replies to customers without reading them
    • Note when a report was drafted with AI
    • Let an AI tool you found online access the shared drive

  2. Go, ask first, or don't?

    Sort each task, assuming your company allows its approved AI tool for everyday work.

    • Brainstorm titles for a public blog post → Go ahead
    • Shorten your own email to a colleague → Go ahead
    • Summarise a confidential contract → Ask first
    • Use AI to screen job applications → Ask first
    • Upload staff health records to a free online tool → Don't
    • Publish AI-written figures without checking them → Don't

  3. Tricky moments

    What's the best move?

    1. Lumi's summary of a meeting says the budget was approved. You don't remember that.

      • Check the notes or ask a colleague before sharing (Answer)
      • Share it, the AI was in the meeting

    2. A customer complains about a wrong price in an email that AI drafted and you sent.

      • Own it, fix it and tell your manager (Answer)
      • Explain that the AI made the mistake, not you

    3. You're not sure if your company allows AI for a task.

      • Use a personal chatbot account to be safe
      • Check the AI policy or ask your manager or IT (Answer)

Remember

Approved tools, no confidential data, review every output. AI drafts, you decide.

AI drafts, you decide. You stay responsible.

Key facts

  • About one in ten US workers say they use AI chatbots at work every day or a few times a week, and 52% say they are worried about the future impact of AI in the workplace. · Source: Pew Research Center, U.S. Workers Are More Worried Than Hopeful About Future AI Use in the Workplace, 2025
  • Since 2 February 2025, the EU AI Act has required organisations that provide or use AI to take measures on their staff's AI literacy. A 2026 amendment reworded the duty as supporting staff's AI literacy, without guaranteeing a set level. · Source: EU AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 4, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744
  • About four in ten US workers who have used AI chatbots for work say they were extremely or very helpful for doing things more quickly; 29% say the same about improving the quality of their work. · Source: Pew Research Center, U.S. Workers Are More Worried Than Hopeful About Future AI Use in the Workplace, 2025
  • AI tools can produce confident errors, leak data that is pasted into them, and be tricked by hidden instructions in documents, which is why approved tools and human review matter.

Updated:

Questions people ask

Is it okay to use AI at work?

Usually, if your employer allows it and you follow its policy. Use approved tools, keep confidential data out of others, and check the output before using it.

What is an AI acceptable use policy?

It's a company document that says which AI tools staff may use, for which tasks, what data may go into them and how outputs must be reviewed.

Can I put company data into a chatbot?

Only into tools your company has approved for that type of data. Confidential, customer and personal data should never go into a free personal account.

Who is responsible if AI makes a mistake at work?

In practice, the person and the organisation using it. Treat AI output like a draft from a new colleague: useful, but checked before it goes anywhere.

Related terms