AI Tool Approval Checklist
A one-page checklist for approving one AI tool for a team: what it will be used for, what the vendor does with your data, who pays, who has access, and what you tell everyone.
AI TOOL APPROVAL CHECKLIST
Goal: end "everyone uses their personal account" by approving ONE tool, in writing. One page per tool.
TOOL: ______________________ PLAN / TIER: ______________________ DATE: __________
REQUESTED BY: ______________________ DECISION OWNER: ______________________
1. WHAT IT IS FOR
Three tasks it will be used for first:
a. ______________________ b. ______________________ c. ______________________
2. DATA — read the vendor's current terms for THIS plan; do not rely on memory
[ ] Does the vendor train its models on what we enter? Yes / No / Opt-out available
[ ] How long is our data retained? ______________________
[ ] Where is it stored / processed? ______________________
[ ] Can we delete it? Yes / No
[ ] Is there an admin console and an audit log? Yes / No
Link to the terms we read: ______________________ Date read: __________
3. ACCESS
[ ] Company accounts, not personal ones
[ ] Single sign-on or at least company email addresses
[ ] Who gets a seat first: ______________________
[ ] What happens to an account when someone leaves: ______________________
4. COST
Per seat / month: ______ Seats: ______ Owner of the budget line: ______________________
5. BOUNDARIES
[ ] The data boundaries one-pager exists and names this tool
[ ] People know what must never go into it
6. DECISION
[ ] Approved for: ______________________
[ ] Approved with conditions: ______________________
[ ] Not approved, because: ______________________
Review again on: __________
7. TELL EVERYONE — one message, sent the same day
"We have approved ______ for ______. Use your company account. Do not put ______ into it.
Questions go to ______. Personal AI accounts are not for company work from ______."
This checklist organises a decision. It is not legal or security advice; involve counsel and IT for regulated data.What you need first
- The tool’s current terms and privacy page for the exact plan you would buy
- Someone who can speak for IT or security, even informally
- The three tasks people want it for
How to use it
- 1
Approve one tool first. Comparing five delays the day people stop using personal accounts.
- 2
Fill section 2 from the vendor’s pages on the day, and paste the link: terms differ by plan and change.
- 3
Do section 7 the same day as section 6. An approval nobody hears about changes nothing.
- 4
Set the review date. Tools and terms move every few months.
Make it yours
- If the answer in section 2 is “trains on our data, no opt-out”, the decision is usually a different plan, not a different tool.
- Keep approved checklists in the same folder as your workflow one-pagers.
A planning worksheet, not a prompt: fill it in with your team. It pairs with the Executive Brief Creation with AI workflow. See where it fits in AI for Leaders and Managers, or take the AI Readiness Assessment to find your team’s weakest area. Want to work through it with Jack? See how training works.
Templates that pair with this one
AI Data Boundaries One-Pager
One page every employee can read in two minutes: which AI tools are approved, what must never go into them, what needs a check first, and which outputs need a named person to sign off.
Open template →Team AI Training Brief
A one-page brief to fill in before any AI training: who is in the room, what each role repeats every week, which tools are approved, and what people should be able to do afterwards.
Open template →Workflows that use this template
Executive Brief Creation with AI
Build a one-page weekly brief for leadership from team updates: what changed, what is at risk, what needs a decision.
Open workflow →Internal Document Summary with AI
Summarise a long internal document for a specific reader and decision, with page references and a list of what the summary leaves out.
Open workflow →
Bring one task.
Leave with it running.
Book a 30-minute call. You’ll have a recommended format and a written quote within 24 hours.
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