Availability: every plan, and every trial.
Every tool on your register needs a decision: approved, approved for some things, or not approved. Staff see each decision in Our AI policies, and the browser extension shows it on the tool's own website when someone opens it.
Where to decideLink to this section
Open Governance → AI tools. A tool still to decide reads Decision pending. Open it, and its page says where it sits in the queue (for example, "3 of 8 to decide"), with Previous and Next to work through the rest.
Governance set-up's Decide on each tool step leads to the same place, and a tool still waiting 14 days after it was added or found becomes a row in Needs you on the Dashboard.
The choicesLink to this section
Under Decision, choose one:
| Choice | What it means |
|---|---|
| Approve it as it is | Goes on the register as approved, with no conditions. |
| Approve it for some things only | You set what it can and cannot be used for. |
| Approve it, on an organisation account | Same tool with an agreement. Points this entry at the one people should use. |
| Not approved. Offer an alternative | Pick what people should use instead. |
| Not approved. Ask people to stop | Best where there is no ongoing need for it. |
| Leave it for now | Stays on the register as undecided. |
Where we have a recommendation, the recommended choice is marked Recommended, with Why: the reason, and what it's based on (the leadership position, your policies, The AI State of Play, the vendor's terms or common practice). The recommendation is a starting point.
Then, depending on the choice:
- Decision: a line about the decision, shown beside it.
- Use instead: for the two choices that point people elsewhere, the entry on your register they should use. On an organisation account, you can tick Move the people on it across so their assignments move with them.
- Information allowed: the types of information the organisation allows in the tool.
- Alternatives: for each type of work, the tool staff should use instead.
Choose Record the decision, or Skip for now to come back to it.
What staff are toldLink to this section
Once a tool is decided, its page shows what staff are told about it, and each field saves as you change it:
- Types of work: what the tool is used for, so staff can find it by the job they're doing (for example, "what can I use to draft emails?")
- Information allowed
- Reason for staff: why staff can use this tool, or why not, in a sentence or two, without costs or names
- Alternatives
Staff see the decision, the reason and the alternatives in Our AI policies, in their AI Adoption Portal and in the extension. When someone opens one of the tool's websites, the extension shows the decision there, once for each tool and again if the decision changes. That's why each tool's Websites are worth getting right: see Adding an AI tool.
Changing a decisionLink to this section
Open the tool and choose Change the decision. The choices open on the decision on record, marked Current decision.
If something has changed since the decision was recorded, such as a policy or the vendor's terms, the tool is marked May need updating, with a new recommendation. Keep the decision leaves it as it is; staff see the decision on record until it's changed.
Decisions also come up for review: a renewal with no decision appears in Needs you within 30 days of the renewal date, and the Review lists decisions as they fall due.
Where decisions are recordedLink to this section
The decision and the date it was recorded show on the tool's page, under Decision, and each one is in the organisation's audit log. The How We Use AI Report lists the decided tools, and what staff are told about each.
Something missing or out of date here? Tell us.