Responsible AI Governance: A Practical Starting Point for SMEs

Smaller and mid-sized organisations often assume that AI governance is only relevant to large enterprises with dedicated compliance teams. In practice, even a lightweight governance framework can significantly reduce risk and build trust with employees, customers and partners.

A practical starting point includes three elements: a simple, clearly communicated AI usage policy; a basic risk classification for different types of AI use cases, from low-risk internal productivity tools to higher-risk customer-facing applications; and a designated point of human oversight for any AI-supported decision that affects customers or employees.

Governance frameworks should evolve as AI use expands. What matters most in the early stages is establishing the habit of asking the right questions before deploying new tools—not building an exhaustive policy library on day one.