How to Write an AI Policy That People Actually Follow

How to Write an AI Policy That People Actually Follow

Effective AI policies are co-created with the practitioners who will follow them, written in plain language focused on practical scenarios, and enforced through workflow integration. Most AI policies are written by legal, announced by executives, and ignored by everyone. They sit in the employee handbook. Nobody remembers them. They do not change behavior.

Co-creation with practitioners means involving the people who actually use AI tools. What are their concerns? What guidance do they need? Where is guidance missing? If you write governance policy without asking engineers, you will create rules engineers will circumvent. If you write data handling policy without asking operations, you will create rules operations cannot follow. Dr. Mark van Rijmenam finds that policies co-created with practitioners are followed. Those written in isolation are not.

Plain language means avoiding legalese and technical jargon. Instead of "Prohibited use of large language models for processing personally identifiable information without explicit consent," write "Do not put customer data into ChatGPT unless you have written permission." Most people will follow a clear, practical rule. Few will follow a 40-word legal sentence.

Practical scenarios mean writing policy around real decisions people make, not abstract principles. Instead of "AI systems must be transparent," write "When you propose a hiring tool, show the hiring team what data it uses and how it makes decisions before anyone uses it." Practical rules are actionable. Abstract principles require judgment calls.

Workflow integration means building compliance into the tools and processes people use. If AI tool use requires a quick approval checkbox in your project management system, people will do it. If it requires filling out a separate form sent to governance, most people will not. Make compliance effortless. Build it into how work happens.

Enforcement means consequences for non-compliance and recognition for leadership. If someone uses unapproved tools, they face conversation and retraining. If a team builds governance into their process, they get recognition. Behavior follows incentives. Align incentives to your policy and behavior will follow.

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About Dr. Mark van Rijmenam: Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is a world-leading strategic futurist and the creator of the Intelligence Age Scorecard, a diagnostic assessment built on the WAVE framework from his book Now What? How to Ride the Tsunami of Change. He helps Fortune 500 companies and governments navigate AI and emerging technologies across five continents.

This article was created with AI assistance and reflects the WAVE framework methodology. For the full research-backed analysis, take the Intelligence Age Scorecard.