AI-assisted tools should be assessed as decision-support systems. Before a team relies on one, it should identify the task, the data boundary, the human owner, and the point at which a person must decide.
Scope note: This is a vendor-neutral governance checklist. It does not state that any particular product has AI features, settings, automations, integrations, access controls, languages, or performance outcomes.
Start with a bounded use case
Write one sentence describing the task the tool may help prepare. Then define:
- the intended user and business purpose;
- information it may receive;
- information it must never receive;
- the output that is acceptable;
- the output that still requires human review;
- a named owner and escalation path.
Do not begin with safety, emergency, employment, legal, credit, collections, pricing, access, or other high-impact decisions.
Treat outputs as drafts
An AI-generated statement may be incomplete, wrong, stale, or unsuitable for the situation. A suggested priority is not a dispatch decision; a drafted message is not an approved communication; a summary is not a source record.
Require a person to review before an output is sent, relied on, or entered into a customer, financial, personnel, or operational record.
Set the data boundary
Use only data that is necessary and authorized for the approved task. Do not copy production names, contact details, addresses, locations, payment information, credentials, tokens, internal links, logs, or screenshots into public examples or test prompts.
Before connecting any tool to business data, review its current official documentation, permissions, retention, contractual terms, logging, incident process, and a way to stop or reverse the workflow.
Test with synthetic scenarios
Use fully synthetic examples and test for:
| Scenario | Expected response |
|---|---|
| Clear, low-risk request | A reviewable draft or suggestion |
| Missing information | A request for human clarification |
| Conflicting information | No automatic commitment |
| Sensitive or urgent request | Documented human escalation |
| Incorrect output | A clear correction and stop path |
Keep an evidence record of the test result, reviewer, and limitation found.
Review controls regularly
Set a review date and an immediate stop condition. Pause use if the tool produces an unclear, unauthorized, inaccurate, or irreversible result. Update the written process before resuming.
Discussion
What is one task in your team where a prepared draft is useful, but a human decision must remain mandatory?